A New Hero In Town
by acosta perez jose ramiro
Summary: The ColoRed Chuck has the respect and gratitude of his city’s people... until another hero shows up. Crossover with several series. BLOOPERS ADDED!
1. The Local Hero

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen... and Angelica. (That's so funny I forgot to laugh.) I'm just kidding, Angie. (Well, I'm not when saying you are on very thin ice, mister.) Whatever. Well, as you guys could real on the story's title, this is my fourth one with Chuckie's superhero ID, The ColoRed Chuck. But, before we continue, Angelica, can you?

(Of course I can. DISCLAIMER. Ramiro, like everyone posting stories in this site, doesn't own the Rugrats/AGU characters portrayed on the following fic. The same can be said about all the characters from different series who will appear on cameos or little roles, and the original character "El Chapulin Colorado", fused with Chuckie to create his superheroic ID, copyrighted by Mexican Network Televisa and Roberto Gomez Bolaños "Chespirito".)

Thanks, Angelica. As she just said, in this story I'll have lots of guest stars from other cartoons, mainly from Nickelodeon. At the end of the fic, of course, we'll have another disclaimer for their use. Besides them, I'll have one or two OC filling a few roles.

(My turn again. This story is set about a year after "Return of The Colored Chuck", so Finster will be married with... ME! Yes!) Cool down, girl. (Okay, I can continue. Anyway, this means we'll be on our twenties, as well as most of the characters, including the ones from other series.)

One last detail. The word "Chanfle", created by Chespirito, will be used a few times in this story. As explained in other fics of mine, this word serves to express anger, surprise, or a bad word, depending on the sentence it's used.

(Okay, people, enough talking. Is time for me and my favorite geek to shine on stage... in other words, let's the games begin!)

**A new hero in town.**

A Rugrats/AGU fic by Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro.

Faster than a speeding turtle!

Stronger than a mouse!

More noble than a lettuce!

His shield is a heart!

He is... The ColoRed Chuck!

**The Local Hero.**

Location, Third National Bank, in the Californian population of Everwood City, one hundred miles away from Los Angeles. In this place, many people manage several business everyday, save and retire the honest earned money product of their job, and, right now, a known phrase is heard inside the manager's office.

"Follow me, Good Guys!"

"As you can see, this toy can say almost three dozen ColoRed Chuck's related phrases, and is fully articulated. It's a sure hit." Angelica Pickles-Finster, in a blue business suit, showed the newest product of Pickles Toys, the little company created by her uncle Stu, and currently co-owned with his main toy designer, his son, Dylan "Dil" Pickles. The bank manager, Edith Monroe, a slightly overweighed red-haired glassed woman, about Angie's age, wearing a green business suit, checked closely said toy, who looked a lot like the real thing in every detail.

"This is a very well built action figure, Mrs Pickles-Finster. It even seems that the real ColoRed Chuck posed for it." Edith commented.

"Actually, that's not far away from truth. You see, Merge Corp, my mother's company, alongside Pickles Toys, contacted the hero to ask for permission to make this toy. Of course, a good part of the profits will be donated to charity, according to The ColoRed Chuck's conditions. Since he'll not receive any money directly, we'll also give a little percentage to the Union of Heroes, Paladins and Similar, because they sustain their organization thanks to this kind of deals and some donations. That's why I asked for this meeting, so your bank can handle the needed transactions." Angelica explained. Of course, she didn't mention that Dil helped create The ColoRed Chuck's ID and gadgets, and that he was her husband, Charles Crandall "Chuckie" Finster, since eight months ago.

"Okay, we have a deal. Our bank will be more than glad to participate." Edith said, smiling. Then, she pressed again the button on the figure's back to activate the voice's chip.

"Suspected that from the beginning." The figure said, using one of the many phrases Chuck taped with Dil's help. It even had several of his bad-said proverbs, and a few recommendations for kids, like "Eat Fruits and Vegetables", and "Don't play with a knife while riding a bike", among others.

Angelica and Edith worked on the business' details, and, less than an hour later, they were done. The moment Angelica shook hands with Edith, both women heard yelling coming from outside the office. They quickly ran to the door, and opened it slightly, gasping at the scene.

"Everybody down, and keep your mouths closed or things will get ugly! Those are the orders of Bumble Man! _Buzz!_" A middle aged man, wearing a ridiculous mask-less bee disguise (similar to the ones used by sportive team's mascots), including wings, antennae, and a big sting, directed to the bank's clients and staff. He wouldn't be so scary except for the fact he was holding two strange guns; one was black, dripping little amounts of a white liquid that solidified the moment it hit the floor, and the other was yellow, with a sharp point that seemed to be part of a dart. Edith and Angelica noticed that two of the bank's guards were covered by the liquid-made-paste, unable to move, and another one was on a fetal position, obviously in pain, with two darts on his back.

"My darts are filled with bee's poison, extremely painful, and lethal in high dose, so you'll better obey me, _buzz_! And, if any of you have the brilliant idea to call the cops, or summon you-know-who, I'll shot the whole charge against that person, _buzz_. Now, you, the people at the counter, give me all the money, or else, _buzz._" The Bumble Man said in an authoritarian tone, making the staff to start dropping all the money in the plastic bags the criminal already had tossed to them. Despite his silly-looking outfit, he was a well-known criminal, so nobody wanted to risk making him anger.

"He hadn't seen us. It's our chance." Edith whispered to Angelica. The red-haired took a deep breath to cool down, and say the famous phrase.

"Oh, and now, who will MMMPPPH!" Edith was cut by Angie, who covered her mouth while motioning her to be quiet.

"We can't just summon him. If we do, the jerk with the gun will shoot someone, remember?" Angelica explained while retiring her hand. Edith understood, and kept silence. Luckily, Angie knew more about this criminal than the average citizen, thanks to her husband, so she had an idea.

"Call the police. I know how to summon him without making this wacko to shot anyone." Angelica said to the manager. She dashed to her desk, and pressed the silent alarm's button. Meanwhile, Angie took a deep breath, and walked out from the office, with her hands down.

"Hey, who are you, _buzz_? Where did you came from, _buzz_?" Bumble Man asked Angie when spotting her, aiming at the woman with his wax's gun. Angelica gulped.

"Uh... I only came to apply for a job answering the phones, Mister Buzz." Angelica said in her best sweet and dumb tone. The criminal growled.

"My name isn't "Buzz", _buzz_! That's just an speech impediment, _buzz_! My name is Bumble Man!" The villain said in an angry tone.

"Your parents were hippies?" Angelica asked, keeping her facade.

"NO! I named myself, _buzz_!" Bumble man said, exasperated.

"Wow! You can do that? I always wanted to name myself Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fana Bo Bestca, The Third." Angelica said with a silly smile. The criminal lowered his guns and clenched his fists and teeth.

"Okay, let's finish with this nonsense, _buzz_! My real name is not your business, and my villain name is Bumble Man!" The villain said, trying to keep his cool. Angelica scratched her chin.

"You're a villain? I thought you were a clown!" Angelica giggled. The criminal got a shocked expression.

"**A CLOWN!** I'm no clown, silly woman, _buzz_! I'm a dangerous villain, and I just said everyone to obey me and stay down without calling the cops or summoning you-know-who!" Bumble man roared, furious. Angelica backed up a little.

"You-Know-Who is another friend of yours?" Angelica asked.

"**AARGH! I mean this city's hero! I don't want anyone to summon him, **_**buzz**_**!"** Bumble Man snapped at her.

"And how can anyone summon him?" Angelica asked, grinning slightly.

"Everybody knows that, _buzz_! You must be in a danger situation, or needing help, and say out loud... Oh, and now, who will save us?... or protect us, or help us, or something like that. _Buzz_." Bumble man said in frustration. The moment he realized his mistake, a familiar voice was heard from behind him.

"I!" The villain turned to see a guy dressed in a red mask-less outfit, complete with a hood with antennae, yellow shorts, yellow and red sneakers, and a heart-shaped yellow symbol on the middle of his chest, with a red "CH" inside it. He was using purple glasses, but, at a distance, they seemed to be some sort of mask, and was holding a red and yellow mallet with both hands.

"**THE COLORED CHUCK!"** Bumble man growled, and aimed his darts' gun against the hero. Angelica knew she had to give Chuckie enough space to fight, so she jumped out of the way.

The Bumble Man started shooting his darts against Chuck. Luckily, even if he still had some accidents once in a while, Chuckie now was more agile and had lots more practice with his mallet than back when he saved Angelica the first time they met, so he could use it as a shield to block the darts and advance against the villain. When he noticed the darts were useless, decided to use the wax, but now Chuckie was close enough to use his Skweaky Lumper in an offensive way.

SKWEAK!

On a single movement, Chuck made Bumble Man to drop both guns. The criminal reacted by grabbing the mallet, so he and Chuck started struggling for the weapon's control.

"Hey, Bumble Man, time without seeing you; you still have that speech impediment?" Chuck asked the villain when they were face to face.

"Yes, _buzz_. You still have the silly costume and can't say correctly a proverb?" The villain snapped back. Chuck smirked.

"Yes... but at least I don't need to use a weapon to fight all the time." Chuck said while releasing his grip on the mallet. This was so sudden it caught the villain by surprise, and, before he could use the mallet, Chuck punched him on the chin, making Bumble man to fall on his back and drop the weapon. Chuckie, compared to most superheroes, wasn't very strong, but that didn't mean he couldn't give a good hit or two when needed, and, against this particular villain, he knew he had the edge in hand-to-hand fighting.

"And who are you to say my disguise is silly, uh?" The ColoRed Chuck said while advancing to finish the fight, but Bumble man rolled to show his rear to the hero, forcing him to keep his distance because of the large sting. The criminal rubbed his chin, and smirked at him.

"At least my outfit is fully functional, _buzz_!" Bumble Man said, and, a moment later, activated a special device on his wrist that made the wings to start moving. After a few seconds, he was flying a few feet over the floor.

"You'll never catch me, ColoRed Chuck!" The villain laughed evilly while flying through the room and heading to the exit. Chuck noticed then the wax's gun at his feet, and smiled; this was a gun he surely would be able to use.

The hero grabbed the gun and jumped over a nearby desk to shoot the wax at the flying criminal. Despite having a terrible aim, which made him to waste most of the wax, a little of the substance could hit The Bumble Man's wings, making him to fall to the ground. Chuck dashed next to him and pointed the criminal with the gun, smiling.

"This will keep you here until the police arrive. And, for the record, your escape phrase was already old when I was on diapers." The ColoRed Chuck pulled the trigger, but nothing came out.

"Chanfle! This is another reason I hate guns." Chuck said in frustration. The criminal took advantage of the situation, and stood up aiming his sting against Chuck, attacking him with it as if the sting was a sword.

"Hey, you have very good waist's movements!" Chuck said while avoiding a swing that almost cut his face.

"Well, you hadn't heard about the bees' dance? And besides, it seems those years of working in a carnival, as an Elvis' impersonator, are finally paying on,_ buzz._" Bumble Man said with an evil grin while trying to hit his enemy.

Chuck got trapped against a wall with the sting right in front of him. The hero gulped in fear, but then noticed a wall's socket just a few feet at his left. Chuck got an idea, and, the moment the villain attacked, the hero grabbed the sting with both hands. The sting was sharp, but only at its point, so Chuck could keep a grip on it without being cut.

"Hey, release me! I'm not touching your rear, so stay away from mine! _buzz!_" Bumble Man said while trying to break free from Chuck's grip. The hero made an extra effort, and aimed the sting against the socket.

"A home-made bug zapper, coming up!" Chuck exclaimed, and then stuck the sting inside the socket, releasing it a moment later to avoid what was coming next.

**ZZZHHHRRRAAAAKKKLLLEEE!**

"**YIIIIAAAARRRGGHHBBBUZZZZ!"** The villain yelled in pain, and, after a few seconds, was thrown through the room because of the electric shock. He stayed motionless, but still breathing, on the bank's floor, with his disguise half burnt and some sparks jumping from his wings.

"Didn't count with my cleverness!" Chuck said in his usual heroic tone, while everyone at the bank cheered at him (expect the officers, of course, since they were still incapacitated by the criminal's weapons). Chuck and Angie gave each other a fast glance, smiling fondly. Luckily, since it was common knowledge that he had saved Angelica's life a couple of times, nobody questioned they could be friendly with each other whenever they met in public, protecting his secret ID.

A few minutes later, two well known police officers, Phil and Lil DeVille, alongside another dozen cops and a few paramedics, appeared at the bank. Bumble Man was handcuffed while his disguise's sting was removed, both to avoid accidents and to make him fit well inside the patrol that would transport him. His wings were still covered by the wax, so there was no risk of him trying to escape by flying. Chuck, alongside the DeVilles and some of the paramedics, attended the people at the bank and got rid of the wax trapping the guards while the one who was darted was transported to the closest hospital. Angelica decided to talk with Chuck but, since there were a lot of people around, she had to be careful, especially because Edith seemed to be a great fan of The ColoRed Chuck and insisted on being close to him.

"Oh, ColoRed Chuck, since you are here, I think you'll be glad to hear that Miss Monroe and I had already finished that business concerning your new toy." Angelica said in an all-business tone. Chuck nodded.

"Hey, that's great. I hope enough people buy them; the people at the orphanage can give a good use to that money." Chuck commented. Edith, smiling, moved in front of the hero.

"Of course they'll buy it! I'm going to buy one myself... I mean, to my nephew!" Edith said, blushing. Angelica chuckled.

"You can keep the sample toy I showed to you. We have a lot." Angelica said to the manager. Edith smiled, and handled it to Chuck while taking a pen out from her suit.

"Can you autograph it for me... I mean, for my nephew? His name is Edith, like mine." The woman said, nervous. Angelica rolled her eyes; unless her nephew's parents were really liberal people, it was obvious the autograph was for the manager.

Chuck autographed the toy, and gave it back to Edith. She thanked him, and then walked away to give her declaration to the officers.

"You have more than a few fans, isn't it?" Angelica said to Chuck, arching an eyebrow. Of course she wasn't jealous, but liked to tease her husband once in a while; it was a huge part of their relationship. Chuck shrugged.

"I hope so, or that toy will be a major loss. How had you been, Mrs Pickles-Finster?" Chuck asked in a professional tone. Angelica chuckled.

"I still have to get used to my new last name... but I'm enjoying a lot my new life. My husband isn't the most handsome guy around, but he is very kind, funny, and so sweet I can get cavities just for kissing him." Angie said, smiling slightly at the hero. Chuck laughed a little, but remained in character.

"Well, I'm sure he must be a very good person, and surely a lucky one for marrying such a pretty and talentive woman. One witness told me that you tricked Bumble Man to summon me. Very clever," Chuck commented. Angelica blushed slightly.

"Hey, he is a guy that dresses like a bee and talks as if having a shaving machine inside his throat. Maybe he can be dangerous in a fight, but surely isn't the sharpest man around." Angelica shrugged. The conversation was cut when they noticed the press people's arrival.

"Guess we should go out. I have to give a short speech to the press, and surely they'll like to interview the person that risked her life to summon me." Chuck told Angelica. The blonde smiled; she enjoyed being the center of attention. A moment later, they were outside the bank where a dark blond woman in a green outfit was talking to the cameras.

"Good afternoon. I'm Doddie Bishop, reporting from Everwood National Bank, where the super criminal, Bumble Man, was stopped in his robbery attempt by our local hero, The ColoRed Chuck. Three security guards were incapacitated before the hero could be summoned, and one of them had to be transported to the hospital a few moments ago; luckily, it seems his condition is stable. Oh and here's the man of the moment, The ColoRed Chuck." Doddie said while moving next to Chuck, alongside several reporters from the local newspapers and magazines, as well as a few ones from more recognized ones.

"ColoRed Chuck, can you give us some details about the fight?" Doddie asked the hero. Chuck hated to be rude, but he knew he had to limit his time around the reporters so they couldn't take many close shots of him that might reveal his identity; luckily, this time he had a sure way to escape the interview.

"Well, Miss Bishop, the lovely lady next to me, Mrs Angelica Pickles-Finster, is the one that faced the criminal and handled to summon me. I trust her enough to allow her to answer any question regarding the battle." Chuckie said in his heroic voice. Angelica smiled and moved next to the reporters, who started questioning her about what happened inside the bank; she exaggerated a couple of details, but her description was quite accurate.

Chuck was about to leave when he heard some women screaming, but not in fear, but in excitement. Everyone at the scene turned in the direction of the noise, and noticed a man standing at the end of the street, between two pretty young women, a brunette and a blonde.

"Look, down at the street!" A random woman said, excited.

"Is Val Kilmer!" Another woman said.

"Antonio Banderas! AAAH!" A reporter girl said, fainting at the end.

"No... is Super Hunk!" Lil said, blushing.

"_Oh, man! Not him!"_ Chuck thought, slapping his forehead in annoyance.


	2. Super Hunk

**Super Hunk.**

The newcomer approached the crowd. He was a medium-sized young man, with dark brown eyes, black medium-length hairdo, tanned skin, and, despite using a dark blue mask covering part of his face, he showed some well defined and handsome features. He was wearing a sky blue superhero's outfit (that showed a well built body, similar to an Olympic runner), with a wide white line from his neck to the lowest part of the abdomen, and a black "SH" stylized symbol on the middle of his chest; his pants were the same color, and the outfit was complete by a yellow cape and red gloves and boots. His two female companions (a long-haired blonde and a short-haired brunette) were using white masks, red tops, pink skirts, and baby blue boots, gloves, and short capes, as well as stylish blue B's on the middle of their chests. They stopped a few feet away from the crowd, and the girls introduced him.

"More handsome than Brad Pitt!" The brunette assistant said.

"Stronger than Arnold Shwarzenneger!" The blonde continued.

"Cooler than Samuel Jackson!" Both girls chorused.

"And more egotistical than Daffy Duck." Chuck said to himself.

"HE IS... SUPER HUNK!" The girls ended the introduction, while Super Hunk made a pose in front of the people.

"The one you were crying for." SH said in a cool tone, while flashing a smile at the crowd. Immediately, all the women started doing fangirls' sounds while the press people started taking pictures and trying to have a close up of the newcomer.

Chuckie sighed. Super Hunk was one of the few heroes not affiliated to the Union of Heroes, Paladins, and Similar (or HUPS, for short). He was famous for appearing here and there, showing off his skills on various towns and small cities. What worried Chuck the most was the influence he had on people, especially among women... and, more precisely, his wife, who was staring at SH like everyone else.

"Ehem! Mrs Pickles-Finster... do you remember the little chat we had inside the bank concerning your HUSBAND?" Chuck said to her while waving his hand in front of the blonde. This made Angelica to shake her head and react; she blushed and laughed nervously when noticing what she just had done in front of Chuckie.

"Oh, yes... about how nice, sweet, and FORGIVING he is." Angelica said while giving him a cheesy grin. Chuckie sighed, and directed all his attention to SH, who started talking to the crowd.

"Sorry I'm late, but I was washing my hair to look good when catching the villain. So, if you tell me where the criminal is, I'll handle him." Super Hunk said in his cool tone while looking at his fist and keeping a smug face. Lil reacted, and moved in front of him to talk.

"Oh, sorry, Mister Super Hunk, but The ColoRed Chuck already caught Bumble Man." Lil said, blushing. Super Hunk looked at her with an unamused expression, and then lifted his face, searching for the local hero. When noticing him, he motioned Lil to move aside, and walked through the crowd, directing his march to The ColoRed Chuck.

"Oh, yeah, The ColoRed Chuck... can I call you just "CH"? It's cooler that way." Super Hunk asked, standing in front of Chuck. Even if SH wasn't affiliated to the Union, Chuck still had to fulfill his duties as the resident defender, and welcome him.

"Sure, no problem, SH;" Chuck extended his left hand. Super Hunk shook it, but tightened his grip, causing Chuck to make a hurtful expression, but recovered quickly, not wanting to look like a weakling in front of everyone, especially Angie. SH released him, and his blond assistant quickly replaced his glove with a new one, while Chuck placed his hand behind his back, shaking it in pain.

"Sorry about the handshake, CH. I forgot you have no super strength... or any other power. Oh, and who is this lovely lady?" SH said, finally paying attention to Angelica. Angie gulped.

"Oh... I... am... I am... Angelica. Angelica Pickles." Angie said, nervously.

"Pickles-Finster." Chuck added, whispering to her. Angie regained her composure, but lost it again when SH leaned to kiss her hand.

"Is a pleasure... for you, I mean, but I like it too." Super Hunk said while looking at Angelica's eyes. Angelica couldn't move; she was like hypnotized by those deep brown eyes.

"AND WHAT, I WONDER, IS THE REASON OF YOUR VISIT?" Chuck said in a more than slightly upset tone. SH turned his back to him and Angelica, and directed to everyone.

"Good people of Everwood, I know that The ColoRed Chuck had been this city's hero for almost seven years, but he also helps many people through the country, and even beyond our frontiers. Because of this, I'm afraid he can't stay here and protect his city all the time, so, generously, I'm offering my incredibly worthy help to Everwood's citizens and Police Department, since he can't always do it." SH declared, causing cheers and positive comments amongside all the presents, except Chuckie, of course. Super Hunk turned to see him again.

"Unless, of course, you oppose; this is your city, after all." SH said while crossing his arms. Chuck gulped, noticing everyone now was looking at him. Super Hunk really waited for the right moment to make his announcement; Chuck knew his reputation would be terribly damaged if he refused to accept him in the city, and, as The ColoRed Chuck, he depended on the people's trust as much as other heroes rely on their powers and super-weapons.

"No, I don't oppose, SH. I might be the city's resident hero, but I don't own the town, or decide for everyone. If you wanna stay, I'll not be the one kicking you out of here." Chuck said, resigned. SH smiled, and directed to the crowd again.

"You heard it, people. Everwood has a new defender... Super Hunk, Number One Super Guy!" SH said in his coolest tone, and immediately got surrounded by people asking for an interview, an autograph, or (in the case of some very decided ladies) a date. The ColoRed Chuck started walking away, looking down.

"He takes advantage of my nobleness... wait… he said he was the Number One Super Guy? Please, at least he should use his own phrases." Chuck talked to himself.

Angelica was about to ask for an autograph too, but then she noticed Chuckie walking away. At that moment, a little voice inside her head snapped at her.

"_What are you doing, you fool? That dork in red suit is the love of your life. He would die a million times for you, and what are you doing? Drooling for the same guy that made him feel like dirt!"_ The voice said to Angelica. Angie shook her head, realizing about the truth of that statement. She knew she just couldn't run aside him, so she took her cell phone out from her suit, and dialed his number.

"Chuckie? It's me... look, I'm sorry! I don't know what happened! He just looked at me, and I couldn't contain myself!" Angelica said at the phone, being careful nobody could hear her. There was silence from the other side of the line, and, after a minute or so, the reply came.

"I know, Angie. I can't blame you... I mean, he is Super Hunk. Men want to be him, and women want to be with him. It's just that... look, I'm going home. See you there, okay?" Chuck said in an obviously sad tone. Angelica agreed, and hung off the phone. Super Hunk suddenly became less attractive for her.

**X-X-X-X**

About an hour later, once she gave her declaration at the Police Station, Angelica returned home. She and Chuck lived in a little house located at the city's outsides, in the suburbia area. The house wasn't the fancy residence Angelica always dreamed with when she was younger, but it was perfect for a young married couple. However, this time, she was, for once, nervous to face Chuck instead the other way. Chuckie, at times, had to apologize for being absent in special occasions, or for a kiss from a grateful girl he had just saved, but that was part of his job, unlike Angelica, who almost ignored him completely because of Super Hunk. Angie sighed, and entered the house at quietly as possible.

She started looking for Chuckie, and when couldn't find him in the kitchen, living room, or gym (despite not being as muscular as other heroes, Chuckie trained at least an hour everyday to keep himself in top shape), she walked upstairs, and then heard Chuck talking to someone on their bedroom. Angelica opened the door slightly to see who was with him; she couldn't help but smile a little when noticing Chuck on his civilian clothes talking with Fluffy, her Persian cat, while brushing her fur.

"I tell you, Fluffy, if that guy wasn't a superhero, and one with super-strength, no less, I would have done something really drastic... but there are several reasons that stopped me. Wanna hear them?" Chuck asked the feline. Fluffy yawned in boredom.

"I'm taking that as a "Yes". Okay, first of all, UHPS isn't a monopoly, or the mob, so I don't really have any authority over a non-affiliated hero. Second, he is right about me not being here all the time, so I guess having another hero around isn't a bad idea... I mean, sure, Tommy is a hero too, but Okey Dokey Jones does most of his missions on other countries, and I'm always summoned to help people outside the city's limits. Third, despite his attitude, SH really does a good job; I had seen tapes of him fighting criminals and saving people, and he is pretty competent as a crime fighter. the only reason we didn't accept him at the Union was because he wanted to be the leader from day one, and, come on, he is good, but he's a rookie compared with half of the members. Even all the world's charisma wasn't enough to give him that job." Chuck said to the cat, smiling a little at the last part. Fluffy looked at him with bored eyes, but decided to lie on his lap and purr a little.

"Oh, you're supporting me? Thanks. Now, if only I can convince you to stop using my mallet as a scratching pole... no, I don't do miracles." Chuck said to the cat while rubbing her belly. Outside the room, Angelica was doing her best to avoid laughing. Sometimes Fluffy enjoyed doing some of her feline stunts on Chuck or his stuff, but most of the time they could, at least, stand each other.

"Anyway, I suppose I can't be angry with him for flirting with Angelica. I mean, he doesn't know she is my wife, and, honestly, can I really blame him for finding her attractive? Angie is one of the most beautiful women I had ever met, and, certainly, at least to me, she is the most amazing ever. And believe me, Fluffy, that's saying a lot when it comes from a guy who sits next to Wonder Woman in the UHPS' meetings." Chuck said to the cat, smiling. Angelica took a deep breath, and entered the room, making Chuck and Fluffy to lift their heads.

"Well, thank you for the comparison... but, even if you have no reason to be angry with him, you have to be with me. He doesn't know we are married, but I do, and the way I acted isn't proper of a wife, especially one that loves her husband as much as I do." Angelica said, looking down. Chuck stood up, an, after placing Fluffy in the bed, he put his hands on Angelica's shoulders.

"Hey, relax, Angelica. I admit that wasn't exactly the best experience of my life, and I was really hurt for watching that scene, but I understand you. When I first met Diana, I hardly could talk because of the emotion... and I still feel a little intimidated when I'm next to her. Is obvious you might feel something similar when meeting a superhero, especially one like Super Hunk." Chuck said in a kind tone but rolling his eyes at the last part.

"Yes... but I shouldn't be so excited when meeting a superhero. I mean, my cousin is a hero, you had introduced me to your closest friends in the Union, and I'm married to you! By now, I should be able to control myself." Angelica commented.

"Well, I'm not exactly the kind of hero that makes you say "_Oh my, look at that_ _marvelous human specimen_", or something like that." Chuck said, chuckling slightly but with a little sad look on his eyes. Angelica shook her head, and smiled at him.

"No. But you're something Super Hunk isn't; The ColoRed Chuck, the hero who faces danger despite being scared most of the time." Angelica told him, making Chuck to laugh a little.

"Let's keep the "being scared" part between us, okay? I have to be a little intimidating for villains... and that's already hard considering my disguise." Chuck replied, making Angelica to laugh as well.

"So, you're not angry with me?" Angelica asked.

"You're not angry with me for sitting next to Wonder Woman on the meetings?" Chuck asked in reply.

"Of course I'm not! I trust you entirely!" Angelica answered, totally smiled widely, and rubbed her cheeks slightly.

"Same here, so no damage done; hey, when was the last time I remained angry with you? We are humans and therefore, we can make mistakes. Remember all the times I had tripped or broken something by accident when I make my entrance, and I have to cover it with a lame excuse and say "_I did that on purpose_", or "_All_ _my moves are coldly calculated_"? Not to mention that time you put your clothing in my closet." Chuckie replied.

**FLASHBACK.**

Chuck, on his civilian clothes, dashed inside his closet to put on his ColoRed Chuck's outfit, emerging a moment later fully dressed.

"See you later, Angie. I'm in a hurry!" Chuck said while giving her a fast kiss. Angelica then noticed something, and whistled at him to make Chuck to stop.

"What?" Chuck asked. Angelica, blushing, pointed at the low part of Chuck's body. When looking down, he gasped; instead of his trademark yellow shorts, he was using a purple skirt with yellow dots.

"Uh... maybe I should put a light inside the closet." Chuck said, blushing and smiling nervously.

**END FLASHBACK.**

"Hey, it could have been worse. I had a bra placed next to the skirt." Angelica said while placing her hands on her hips. Both she and Chuck laughed at the memory; from the last eight months, they have had dozens of incidents like that one because of Chuck's clumsiness and Angelica's messy and bratty nature, but they liked their new life despite those details, or maybe because of them. Every day was a surprise, always expecting one of them to do something that might drive the other crazy for a few moments, and then laugh at themselves.

Chuck and Angelica kissed tenderly for a few minutes, and then walked downstairs to have dinner. Once they were done, they sat on the living room's largest couch to see the news, something every superhero must check on a regular basis, especially the news concerning crimes and special events on the community. Chuck turned on the TV while placing his arm on Angelica's shoulders, and she leaned her head on Chuck's chest while petting Fluffy, who was resting on her lap. After the commercial break, Doddie appeared on screen.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Everwood Evening Newscast, with Doddie Bishop. Today's main note is the arrival of one of the nation's greatest heroes, and certainly the most handsome, Super Hunk, who officially announced he would be one of the city's protectors, just like Thomas Pickles, better known as Okey Dokey Jones, and The ColoRed Chuck. This announcement was done right outside the same bank where the red outfitted hero had caught Bumble Man just a few minutes before." Dodie informed while several images of SH talking to the press appeared on the screen. Then, she started listing several of Super Hunk's stunts on various cities.

"Hey, wait a minute. Super Hunk just made an improvised press conference, and has the whole program for him, and you stopped a villain, and only got a mention? They aren't even giving details about the robbery!" Angelica commented, slightly upset. Chuck sighed.

"I'm not surprised. Super Hunk is the center of attention wherever he appears. Hey, look at that." Chuck commented, pointing at the screen, where Super Hunk was shown bending a steel bar, and then lifting a taxi without any effort.

"Once he finished his announcement, Super Hunk gave a demonstration of his amazing powers to the press' members. A few minutes later, Mayor Courtney Gripling appeared on scene to meet the famous hero." Doddie said, and then an image of Courtney, wearing a pink business suit, appeared on screen.

"To make our new hero feel welcome, the city will pay for his stay at the penthouse of The Grand Bucks Hotel during all the time he decides to honor our town with his presence. He'll also have access to the Police's communication lines so he'll always be available when needed." Courtney said, blushing when SH moved next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling at the cameras.

"It's a pleasure to serve the citizens of a city that has such a smart and beautiful woman as your mayor. You can rest peacefully at your homes knowing Super Hunk, The Living Legend, will be protecting you against any danger." SH said to the press, getting a close up.

"A penthouse? Hey, that's not fair! And besides, I might not be an expert, but Captain America is The Living Legend, not him. What's next? Calling himself "The Man of Steel"?" Angelica said, upset, making the cat to jump down.

"I don't think he'll dare... but I might be wrong. He once called himself "The Man without Fear". Honestly, just because we can't copyright the phrases it doesn't mean any hero can use them." Chuck replied. A moment later, he got a serious expression while a beeping sound was heard.

"This guy's mouth is even bigger than... well, mine! How can...?" Angelica turned to see Chuck's reaction, but he was gone, and his civilian clothes were on the couch. Angelica sighed.

"I think I'll never get used to that." Angie said to Fluffy, who opened her feline eyes in surprise, looking for her master. Angelica knew exactly where he was... well, not exactly, but knew what had just happened. Someone, somewhere, had summoned The ColoRed Chuck.

**X-X-X-X**

"Don't worry, my wild brothers and sisters! I'll release you from your prison in a moment!" A thin guy with nerdy glasses and a bowl hairdo, wearing black shirt, pants, and boots, with his face painted to mimic a tiger's fur, talked to the birds inside a cage in Hillwood Zoo, while trying to open the cage's lock, as he had done with several others that night.

"Curly, stop! This is dangerous!" A brunette woman, apparently on her forties, wearing a blue dress, appeared behind the guy, trying to make him reason.

"Nonsense, Doctor Bliss! I'm releasing my wild siblings so they can enjoy the sweet gift of freedom!" Curly replied, turning to face the woman. A moment later, a blond young man, with an oddly shaped head (similar to a football), wearing a blue sweater and black jeans, and a little blue cap hanging from a necklace, appeared next to the doctor.

"Curly, please, think about what you are doing. You just can't release all the animals." The man said in a very kind tone. Curly shook his head.

"Of course I can, Arnold! And don't be so hypocrite! You are the one who released a giant turtle when you were nine, remember?" Curly snapped at him. Doctor Bliss turned to see the reaction of Arnold, her pupil; he always had a special talent to help people in need, and was one of the few persons who could reason with Thaddeus Gammelthorpe, best known as Curly, one of her most difficult patients. Arnold sighed.

"Yes, Curly, I did it, but just because that turtle was mistreated, and I released it in the ocean, the animal's natural habitat. But you are releasing wild animals in the middle of the city. They can get hurt, or hurt someone." Arnold said to the crazed guy, trying to make him reason. Curly got a thoughtful expression.

"But... these animals are used to people. They'll surely not attack anyone." Curly replied.

"They are used to the keepers, Curly, but not to regular persons. The most aggressive animals might attack someone, and I'm sure there will be people trying to shoot at them to defend their families. And even if that doesn't happen, what will they eat, and where will they go? Do you think a gorilla or an elephant can sleep in the middle of the street, or get fresh fruit from the park's trees? And those birds aren't used to pollution, homeless cats, or electric lines." Arnold told him.

"These animals aren't prisoners, Curly. I know you hate closed spaces, and the idea of being caught, but they aren't locked to prevent them to enjoy their freedom. They're here to be attended and protected." Doctor Bliss entered the conversation. Curly sighed, and dropped the skeleton keys he had been using to unlock the cages.

"The other animals I already released..." Curly mumbled, looking down, while Arnold and the doctor moved next to him.

"They're fine, Curly. Monkeyman caught the gorilla and the rest of the apes, and then helped the zoo's crew with the other animals. I think they already caught them all." Arnold commented.

**RROOAARR!**

A terrifying roaring made the trio to turn around, spotting a black panther approaching them.

"As Helga would say... _Think again, football head_." Arnold said to himself while gulping in fear. Curly and the doctor gasped while Arnold moved in front of them, using his body as a shield between them and the feline.

"The birds... it's looking for the birds... and we're in the middle!" Doctor Bliss said, deducing the reason the panther wasn't trying to avoid them. Curly sweated cold, while Arnold, slowly, started walking in the beast's direction, trying to distract it.

"You two try to go... slowly... and call for help. I'm staying here to cover you." Arnold said without losing sight of the feline. The panther got into position to pounce on him.

"Call for help... call for help... I got it!" Curly suddenly said, having an idea. He cleared his throat, and talked out loud.

"Oh, and now, who will save him!"

A moment later, in a perfect cue, a famous hooded head popped from the inside of a nearby trash can.

"I!" Chuck said in his usual heroic tone, getting the panther's attention.

"ColoRed Chuck... LOOK OUT!" Arnold yelled to alert the hero, since now the panther seemed more interested in the person wearing the most colorful outfit and making the most noise. The panther dashed against Chuckie.

"**Chanfle!** Nice kitty, nice kitty...!" Chuck said in fear while moving his mallet in front of him for protection. The panther pounced on him, trying to bite his neck, but Chuck could keep the fangs away from him by using the mallet's handler, placing it on the feline's throat while pushing away with both hands. The attack and the struggling made the trash can to fall, stunning both Chuck and the beast.

Chuck shook his head to recover his senses, and noticed the three persons in front of him and the place he was. Then, he noticed the panther was shaking its head as well, and realized he had no time to lose.

"Try to find the keeper! I'll keep Bagheera busy!" Chuck yelled at them while rolling on the ground to move away from the feline. Chuck stood up, and started teasingthe cat.

"Hey, you, alley cat! Come and get me!" Chuck yelled at the panther. The beast dashed against him, and Chuck used one of his few fully-tested abilities that could be considered an almost-power; enhanced speed secondary to full terror.

"I'm following them. Alert Monkeyman, or the keepers, or someone, just do it, please!" Arnold instructed Bliss and Curly, and started chasing the hero and the panther.

Chuck ran at his top speed with the panther closely behind him while trying to find somewhere to hide. He spotted an open cage that seemed to have no animals inside (unknown to him, that was exactly the panther's cage), and got an idea. He ran inside the cage, but, instead of closing the gate, he allowed the panther to enter. Chuck moved as far as possible from the panther, but taking care that the animal was also far away from the gate.

There were a few rocks and sticks inside the cage, used to give it a more natural look, so Chuck started throwing them to thefeline to keep it apart from him. Arnold appeared about a minute later, and ran next to the cage.

"The gate! Close it!" Chuck yelled to the football-headed guy.

"Not with you inside!" Arnold replied while placing a foot inside the cage.

"Trust me! I have a plan! Get out of here, and close the gate!" Chuck snapped at him while throwing his last stick to the panther. Arnold hesitated for a moment, but finally reacted and closed the gate, locking it, with Chuck and the predator inside the cage..

The sound of the closing gate distracted the panther for a few seconds. Then, Chuck took a little jar out from his shorts, opened it, and took out a pill. Right when the panther returned its attention to the hero, and pounced on him, Chuck swallowed the pill, shrinking himself to the size of a mouse, avoiding the attack. While the confused beast started searching for its prey, Chuck run through the cage's bars, escaping.

"Wow! Now, that was impressive!" Arnold said, amazed, while moving to the side of the cage where Chuck's escaped, and leaned to take a better look at the hero.

"Shrinktolin's pills. Never go out of home without them." Chuckie said, panting, while Arnold moved his hands in front of him, allowing Chuck to climb on them.

"Thanks for the rescue, ColoRed Chuck. Nice to see you again," Arnold told him. Chuck had appeared in Hillwood more than once, and many times it was to help one of Arnold's friends.

"Same here. That panther escaped by its own, or someone released it?" Chuck asked. Arnold sighed.

"Curly." Arnold replied. Chuck slapped his forehead.

"Again? Seriously, that guy never learns? Last year he thought he was a vampire, and tried to kidnap your friend Rhonda and make her his "Nocturnal Queen"; two months before that, he tried to fly by using fire extinguishers; and three years ago he thought he was Paul Revere, and ran in the traffic saying the British were coming! What's next? Locking himself inside a room, and attack people with balls, or using a bride dress in a cemetery at night?" Chuck said, more than slightly upset.

"He already did those on Elementary." Arnold said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh." Chuck said, surprised. A moment later, a tall guy with curly brown hair, a yellow shirt with a large "M" in the middle, green cape, brown pants, and white sneakers appeared behind them.

"Monkeeeeymaaan!" The guy yelled. Arnold and Chuck shook their heads.

"Monkeyman, it's me. I already know who you are." Chuck said to Monkeyman; they knew each other from the times Chuck had appeared in Hillwood, and the UHPS' meetings. Chuck actually considered him a friend, but he had an speech impediment even worse than Bumble Man's.

"Oh, that's monkeyman right. Thanks a lot for saving my monkeyman friend, ColoRed Chuck. I was monkeyman helping the keepers with the elephants when Curly and Doctor Bliss told me about the monkeyman panther's problem." The local hero said to Chuck.

"Hey, just keep me in a place where nobody can step on me while I recover my natural size, and we'll be even, okay, buddy?" Chuck commented. Arnold and Monkeyman chuckled, and Monkeyman placed Chuck on his shoulder, while they walked away.

"By the way, thanks for the assistance, Arnold. One moment after, and I would had needed to start throwing poop to the panther. Yuk!" Chuck told Arnold while making a nauseating face.

"Well, that cage seemed to be clean. Actually, I couldn't smell poop at all." Arnold commented.

"Believe me, a few more seconds, and there would be... and not exactly animal one." Chuck said, blushing in embarrasement. Monkeyman and Arnold understood what he meant, and laughed loudly.


	3. Heroic stunts

**- Heroic stunts.**

A man dressed entirely in black, wearing a dark mask and holding a brown sack, tried to open a house window, covered by the night's shadows. After a few seconds of struggling, he succeeded, and, under the mask, smiled. However, when he was placing a foot inside the house, the man was stopped by a powerful grip on his neck.

"Sorry, man, but what you are doing isn't cool at all." Super Hunk said to the criminal while lifting him without any effort. The man struggled in vain to release himself, while SH made an heroic pose so his blond assistant could take a picture of him doing his job. Then, the hero punched the thief, knocking him out, and dropping him on the ground.

A few moments later, the whole neighborhood was surrounding the house to take a brief look of Super Hunk. On the meantime, SH's brunette assistant was giving an autographed picture of the hero to an excited brown haired teenage girl.

"Super Hunk really appreciates your help to catch this criminal. Thanks a lot for calling us." The woman said to the girl, who started giggling while looking at the picture.

Since SH arrived Everwood, almost a week ago, he announced that he would give autographed pictures to anyone reporting any kind of crime through the special phone line the Police Department assigned for him. Because of this, every day several persons, mainly teenagers, had started keeping their eyes open for any criminal activity, so Super Hunk didn't need to patrol. To make things easier for him, the city, or, more precisely, Mayor Gripling, gave a Cadillac to him and his assistants for transportation, and they were allowed to break any traffic law to be on time, just like an ambulance or a police car.

The next morning, Chuck picked up the newspaper, as usual, and found Super Hunk's name on the headlines, as it had been happening since he arrived. Chuckie sighed and sat at his kitchen's table, waiting for Angelica to have breakfast together. Since Chuck did almost nothing between The ColoRed Chuck's summons, he made almost all the house work, including cooking, as well as helping his parents to attend their business, the cyber-cafe Java Lava, which helped him as well to keep the facade of having a civilian job. Chuck started reading the article concerning Super Hunk's last stunt.

_At least he is being useful_, Chuckie thought. Truth be said, he wasn't so angry for having another hero around, but by his attitude and excessive showing-off; Chuckie had no trouble if the newspapers gave him more attention, as long as Super Hunk didn't mess with his job. He then noticed something about the criminal. The newspaper described him as part of a dangerous gang that operated in an international level, but Chuck caught this particular thief about two years ago, and knew that wasn't true. He operated by his own, and was considered a low-danger criminal.

_The Press is exaggerating Super Hunk's stunts. I thought that was just a rumor. _Chuck thought, remembering what he had heard at times in the UHPS' meetings. According to these rumors, even if Super Hunk really caught criminals, most of the time they were petty thieves, but he always convinced the press and even some cops to make them look like highly dangerous ones to improve his reputation.

"Reading the comic strips?" Chuckie lifted his head, founding his favorite police officer entering his house through the kitchen outside door, thanks to the key he gave to her. She was using a black top, a red jacket with her badge on it, and blue jeans.

"You know, Kimi, just because I gave you a key doesn't mean you can go inside a house without knocking first." Chuck said to his sister in a faked angry tone. Kimi shrugged and gave him a little kiss on his cheek.

"Oh, you're a little grumpy today. Angelica washed your disguise with too much bleach again?" Kimi asked in a joking way while grabbing a toast from the dish on the table's center.

"Don't remind me that. Somehow, The ColorPink Chuck doesn't sound so good." Chuckie chuckled, rolling his eyes. He offered Kimi a chair while he stood up.

"Want some breakfast?" Chuck said while grabbing the pan where he had prepared some scrambled eggs for Angelica and himself; he always prepared a little more than needed in case any of his friends or Kimi decided to appear and eat with them. Kimi shook her head.

"No, thank you. Just the toast and some orange juice, please. Actually, I came to... well... I guess you already noticed it." Kimi said, looking at the newspaper. Chuck gave her a glass with OJ, and sat next to her.

"Yes. Super Hunk and the way the press and the authorities are trying to make him look like the best thing that had happened to humankind since cheeseburgers." Chuck said while grabbing a toast himself.

"Yes... about that... Chuckie, I feel really bad for this. Commander Pangborn had ordered all of us to help Super Hunk and support any good story said or written about him. I tried to tell that guy a few things when he appeared at the station." Kimi said, slightly upset.

"And what happened?" Chuckie asked, with a concerned look. Even if he liked the idea of Kimi defending him (and, since she was Captain, her opinion was quite important), he hated thinking she might get in trouble with the commander or the mayor.

"I just couldn't say a thing to him! I stared at this guy, and, well, he kissed my hand and commented about how pretty I am, and, when I reacted, he already had given me an autographed picture! Susie was the one who made me react, and even she was affected the same way!" Kimi said, slapping her head in frustration. She was convinced that was a sure way to betray her brother. Chuck sighed, and placed a hand on Kimi's shoulder.

"I know, it's hard to resist him. I guess the only ones who aren't impressed by Super Hunk are those like me, who get annoyed by his attitude or are directly affected by his actions." Chuckie told her.

"You know, maybe that's another superpower of him. Hey, that doesn't make him a super villain?" Kimi suggested.

"I had thought about that myself, but, even if he has some kind of charming power, he fights crime and protects citizens, and does it well. What he does with his charm might be a little un-ethical, but it's not illegal, and doesn't really harm anyone except me." Chuck commented his sister.

"Brother, I guess you have a super power as well... to stand this guy, you must be super-patient." Kimi told him, smiling slightly as it seemed Chuck wasn't angry with her.

"Of course he's super patient. He married me." Angelica said while entering the kitchen; since she had no work that day, Angie was wearing a white top, blue short pants, and red sneakers instead of her business suit. Angie greeted Kimi and kissed Chuck before sitting and having breakfast with them. Kimi, as she had said, wasn't really hungry, so she just took some sips of her juice while chatting.

"You stared at him with Chuckie right next to you?" Kimi asked Angelica when they touched the Super Hunk's subject and the little incident they had with him.

"Yes. Not my brightest moment." Angelica said while eating her eggs.

"Don't sweat. Susie did the same, and Harold was right behind her." Kimi informed her. Angelica chuckled.

"Sergeant Susan "I do the right thing" Carmichael did that? Wow! Guess she is only human after all. But, again, even if this guy is handsome, we can't just lose our heads every time he's around." Angelica told Kimi.

"I think..." Chuck started saying, but couldn't finish the phrase. When Kimi and Angelica turned to see him, they noticed he was gone, and his civilian clothes were on the floor..

"I wonder who might summon him so early on Saturday." Angelica told Kimi.

"Yes. Well, it would be a crime not eating this, and I must fight crime." Kimi said while grabbing Chuckie's half- eaten breakfast. Angelica arched an eyebrow at her.

"Girl, you are spending too much time with DeVille." Angelica sighed.

**X-X-X-X**

"Push harder, Spencer. I think I can get it." A seven years old girl with pig tails said to her friend, a brown haired boy about the same age, who was trying to help her climb a tree.

"Bernadette, this is useless. You can't even reach the low branches, and the ball is stuck in one of the tallest." Spencer said to her. The girl sighed and asked the boy to help her down.

"Great. Why I allowed you to convince me to play at this time in the park? There are no grown-ups who can help us to take the ball down." Bernadette said to Spencer. The boy gave her a weird look.

"Bernie, you are the one who convinced me to play at this time, remember? You said it was a good idea because we would have the park for ourselves." Spencer told her. The girl sighed, and looked at the ball, who was way out from their reach.

"Oh... and now, who will help us?" Bernadette said in a slightly upset tone. In a perfect cue, they heard a voice coming from the nearby playground.

"I!" The ColoRed Chuck said to the kids, standing on top of the slide.

"THE COLORED CHUCK!" Both kids exclaimed.

"Didn't count with my cleverness! Good guys, follow me." Chuck said a moment before losing balance and slipping on the slide, landing face first.

"Are you hurt, Mister ColoRed?" Spencer asked while he and Bernadette moved next to the hero. Chuck shook his head, and stood up while dusting off.

"Of course I'm not. I did that on purpose to see if the games are safe for you kids to use... and besides, I always liked the slide. All my movements are coldly calculated." Chuck said to the children. Unlike SH, he tried to seem a little better than he really was, not for showing-off, but to try keeping an image of a competent hero people could trust.

"Oh, well. Anyway, good thing you appeared here, Mister Chuck. I know you must be a very busy hero, but we'll appreciate a lot if you recover our ball. It's stuck on that tree." The girl said to the hero while pointing at the tree. Chuck smiled at them.

"Of course I will. I'm never too busy to help anyone. As the old and known proverb says; It's nice to be important, and don't look to who." Chuck said in his expert tone, causing the kids to get dumbfounded expressions.

"No, wait... oh, yes. Do well, but is more important to be nice." Chuck tried to correct himself. The kids scratched their heads, confused. Chuck noticed this, and tried to correct the proverbs again.

"No, that wasn't right... okay, if you are important, you can try to be important to everyone... but that's impossible because not everyone will care about what you do... unless you're really nice, and you are good being nice... which of course is important as well... well, you got the idea." Chuck finally gave up.

"Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself with the slide?" Spencer asked, concerned.

"Relax, I'm fine. Okay, now I'll get down the ball. Let's see if I can hit it with my Skweaky Lumper." Chuck said while taking out his mallet. The hero aimed at the ball, and threw his weapon, but, unfortunately, it got stuck as well. Chuck groaned and slapped his forehead.

"Guess I'll need to do it the hard way. Stand back." Chuck told the children, and started climbing the tree. After a minute or so, he directed to the kids, who were a couple of feet away from the tree.

"A ball, going down!" Chuck yelled, while dropping the ball. Bernadette caught it without problems.

"A mallet, going down!" Chuck said next. A moment later, his mallet fell from the tree. Spencer caught it; since the mallet wasn't so heavy, it was easy for the boy.

"Yours truly... GOOOIIING DOOOOOWN!" Chuck yelled in fear while falling from the tree.

CRASH!

"Oh, my...! Are you okay?" Bernadette asked Chuck while she and Spencer ran next to the hero, who luckily had landed in a bush next to the tree, softening his fall.

"Of course I am... I did that... who I'm trying to fool? That wasn't on purpose. Ouch." Chuck said while standing up, with a pained expression.

"I got your mallet, Mister ColoRed. Sure you're fine?" Spencer said while handling him the mallet. Chuck, despite the pain, smiled at the kids.

"Yes... don't worry. I'm used to receive a few hits once in a while... actually, more frequently than I would like. Anyway, I'm glad I'm the one who fell from the tree instead of one of you. Next time, however, try playing away from the trees, deal?" Chuck said to them.

"Deal." Both kids chorused, and after thanking him, they left to play in the tree-less part of the park. Once they were at a certain distance, Chuck took out his cell phone and dialed home.

"Hello? Angie? No crime this time; just helping two kids with a little problem they had. Can you please summon me back... and take out the ice bag, and a couple of pain-killers?" Chuck said to his wife while rubbing his shoulder.

**X-X-X-X**

"You caught a super criminal and a panther without getting a scratch, and got hurt taking a ball down from a tree?" Tommy Pickles, wearing the trademark explorer's outfit of Okey Dokey Jones, asked Chuck while trying to hold his laughter. He decided to pay a visit on his friend and cousin that afternoon, and now they all were chatting in the living room.

"Yeah, I know it sounds silly, but that happens to me all the time. Two weeks ago I was hanging some pictures on the wall, and I think I hit my fingers with the hammer like five times... and my trademark weapon is a mallet." Chuckie shrugged. Luckily, the damage caused by the fall was limited to some muscular pain that now was almost totally gone.

"Hey, you're not the only one with weird luck. I face wild animals and archeological artifacts' illegal dealers all the time, and I still get nervous when I see a lizard, or have to swim." Tommy replied, trying to make his friend feel better.

"My heroes." Angelica said in a sarcastic tone while rolling her eyes. Tommy and Chuckie chuckled.

"Changing the subject, have you talked with Super Hunk to see when he'll go?" Tommy asked Chuck, in a more serious tone. Chuck sighed.

"Nope. And, by the way he is treated by everyone around here, I doubt he'll leave any time soon." Chuck confessed. Angelica then got an idea.

"Hey, why don't you go and talk to him, Tommy? You are a hero as well, and, since your identity is public knowledge, you can surely go to his penthouse without worrying about being spotted." Angelica suggested.

"I already talked with him, Angie... actually he did almost all the talking. He said this city needed him a lot because Chuck is always attending calls from other cities, and I'm nothing but a glorified archeologist." Tommy said with a slightly upset look on his face.

"The nerve of that guy!" Angelica snapped. Every time she heard about SH doing something like that, he became less attractive to her eyes, and a lot more annoying.

"And, unfortunately, is very hard to fight back his arguments because they're usually partly true. I mean, I'm not like Chuckie, whose became a hero for his own choice; I'm just an archeologist and a documentary film maker who, by several circumstances, had ended playing a heroic role." Tommy admitted.

"But you are as much as a hero as me, or even more, Tommy. I think we'll better start ignoring whatever Super Hunk tells us, or we'll develop a complex or something. As the old and known proverb says; to silly words, doesn't bite." Chuck said in his expert tone. Angelica and Tommy rolled their eyes, knowing what will happen next.

"No, no, wait... A barking dog, deaf ears." Chuck corrected himself. He then slapped his forehead, realizing his mistake, and tried to correct it.

"No, that's wrong... if you are deaf, and a dog barks, you surely aren't going to hear it... and you don't hear silly words as well... actually, if you're deaf, you'll not hear anything... so, if someone asks you to go get a bite, you'll not hear the invitation... and that person will need to write it, or use signal language... but the real problem is if that barking dog is an aggressive one and charges against you..." Chuck was cut by his wife and friend.

"Well, we got the idea." Angelica and Tommy chorused, making Chuck to stop talking and sigh in frustration.

"Chuckie, how you can be so good about giving advices and improvising plans, but you are unable to say a proverb?" Angelica asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. I can write and understand proverbs perfectly, but, when I want to say them out loud, well, you see what happens." Chuck commented.

"Maybe you should quit the thing with the proverbs; since you are not good at all with them, why keep doing that?" Tommy told him.

"Well, being bad doing something hadn't stopped Angie from singing." Chuck said in a joking tone, making Angelica to give him a playful punch on his still pained shoulder.

"Watch your mouth, mister, or you'll sleep with the dog." Angelica told him in a slightly menacing tone.

"Angie, we have no dog." Chuck reminded her.

"But the neighbors do... a pitbull, if I remember right." Angelica frowned at Chuckie, making him to gulp and Tommy to chuckle. At that moment, the phone rang, and Angelica answered, softening her expression.

"Hello? The Three Stooges here, Moe talking." Angelica said at the phone. Chuck and Tommy laughed.

"Can I be Shemp?" Tommy asked, following the joke.

"Oh, hi, Kimi... yes, he's here. Okay, hold on." Angelica said while getting a more serious expression, and then turned to see Tommy and Chuckie.

"It's Kimi. She wants us to see Channel Twelve." Angelica informed them. Chuckie turned on the TV, and SH appeared on the screen, while Doddie's voice was heard narrating the action.

"In these video images, generously provided by Super Hunk, taken by one of his assistants, we can see him fighting two dangerous weapons dealers, something that happened just one hour ago. They were transporting enough firepower on their car's trunk to scare Saddam Hussein, as one cop said when arresting them." Doddie said, while the images showed SH punching one of the criminals, and lifting the other over his head, throwing him inside a nearby dumpster.

"Ouch. Well, we can say something positive about SH after all." Chuck commented while Tommy and Angelica nodded. Then, Angie heard Kimi telling her something, and got an upset expression.

"Wait, Kimi, I'll turn on the speaker. Please, repeat that." Angelica said while doing right that. Tommy and Chuckie turned to pay attention to Kimi's voice.

"I said that those guys only transported a few low-caliber guns. They really are dealers, but not as dangerous as the news are saying. Super Hunk told that to the press, and the officer that made the arrest supported his version." Kimi said, making Tommy and Chuckie to get shocked expressions.

"Man, that guy is insane, or what? Those lies aren't going to do any good to him!" Chuck said, upset.

"What do you mean? He is getting the attention of the press, and, unfortunately, the public support as well." Angelica commented. Tommy sighed and shook his head.

"Yes, but by showing-off this way and inventing these stories, he will make people think he is like, invincible or something, and, when he fails, everyone will be really disappointed." Tommy told her.

"And what if he never fails?" Angelica asked.

"Angie, even the best heroes can fail once in a while. And, despite SH being a competent hero, he isn't the best, as much as he wants to be considered that way." Tommy explained.

"Well, I guess... Chuckie?" Angelica noticed then that her husband wasn't present, and his civilian clothes were on the couch. Tommy noticed it as well, wide opening his eyes in surprise.

"I can't hear any of you. Chuckie was summoned again, right?" Kimi guessed. Angelica sighed.

"Yes... you know, that can be annoying at times, but there's a good side effect. I don't like him leaving at the middle of a conversation, but always feel really happy when he comes back, and, when I feel happy, I try making him happy as well." Angelica told Kimi, using a suggestive tone at the end.

"That's too much information!" Tommy covered his ears, while Angie and Kimi chuckled.

**X-X-X-X**

"More water, quickly!" A half bald blond man, apparently on his fifties, wearing a blue shirt, brown shorts and white sandals, yelled to his neighbors, who were trying to fight a fire who was burning one of the neighborhood's houses... his daughter and her family's home. And this fire wasn't an accident.

"This is useless, Ray! The lawn and part of the first floor were sprayed with gasoline! We can't turn down this fire just with water!" A blond young man, slightly overweighed, using nerdy glasses, told the older man while using a fire extinguisher to, at least, contain the fire.

"I know, Sammy, but we must try! My grandson is inside!" Ray Rocket replied while throwing another water-filled bucket in the house's entrance.

"Please, let me go. I can do it." A red haired Latin man, about Sammy's age, said to his wife, a beautiful young woman with purple hair, and his best friend/brother-in-law, a guy with braided brown hair and shades. He was laying a few feets away from the house, covered by bruises and first degree burns.

"No, Twister, I'll not let you do it! You hardly survived when trying the first time! I can't lose you too!" The woman said while hugging him, with tears on her eyes. She and her brother also got a few burns when saving her husband from the fire.

Otto rocket, the woman's brother, felt like crying as well, and got an angered expression when lifting his head, looking at the guy who started the fire, his friend's brother, Lars Rodriguez, who now was inside a patrol, with a furious expression on his bruised face (well, he fought trying to escape, and deserved a few hits). He had been jealous of his brother for years, since he married Reggie Rocket, Ocean Shore's most beautiful and coolest girl ever, and decided to have his revenge burning down their house while the couple was talking with the next door neighbors. Unfortunately, he did it without knowing Twister and Reggie's three-years-old boy, Alberto, was taking his nap on the second floor.

Otto tried to run inside the house to save his nephew, but couldn't advance too far because of the flames. His other best friend, Sammy, as well as his father's, Tito, had to pull him away from the fire before he could get injured like Twister.

"The firefighters! Where are they?" Violet, an old woman who had known Reggie and her friends since they were kids, asked in frustration to no one in particular.

"The fire truck had been failing lately, so they're running all the way here! The kid isn't going to survive that long!" McKenzie, a red haired girl, replied to her while running transporting another bucket. Reggie and Twister heard her, and hugged while looking at the burning house, ready to break down.

"Oh... and now, who will help us?" Reggie said, with a broken voice.

"I!" Everyone turned to see the famous hero in red, jumping from behind a parked car.

"The ColoRed Chuck!" Sammy said, surprised.

"Didn't count with my... **CHANFLE!** There's anyone inside the house?" Chuck cut his usual introduction when noticing the problem.

"My son... he was sleeping on the second floor..." Twister told him in a pained voice. Chuck gasped, and immediately started thinking about a way to save the kid. He then noticed a guy using a long black cape and cowl, and a hockey mask.

"I need your cape, quick!" Chuck told him in a hurry. Eddie, the guy wearing the cape, nodded and handled it to him; it was the regular disguise he normally used while attending his father's magic and novelties' store..

"Now, someone soak me!" Chuck said while putting on the cape. McKenzie then threw him the full content of her bucket, wetting the cape entirely.

"He is on the third room, counting from the stairway." Otto told the hero, understanding his plan. Chuck nodded, and slowly, started walking in the house's entrance direction, and, despite the heat, sweating cold.

"I'm going to do it... I'm going to do it... seriously, I'm going to do it..." Chuck repeated to himself, trying to summon all the courage he needed.

"MOOOOMMMYYYY! DAAAADDDYYY!" The kid scared voice was then heard, freezing everyone on their spots. Chuck gasped in surprise, and then, clenched his teeth and frowned; that scream was all he needed to hear.

"I'm doing it!" Chuck yelled while dashing inside the house. When entering, the first thing he did was throwing himself to the floor, rolling in the direction, he guessed, the stairway was; luckily, he was right, and ended next to it, burning just like the rest of the house. Chuck took a breath (not so deep because of the smoke), and ran upstairs, feeling the heat on his sneakers; fortunately, the burning sensation gave him an extra impulse to run faster, avoiding being caught by the flames and falling because of the steps who broke under his weight.

Chuck looked for the room Otto indicated him, and opened the door, finding a dark red haired little boy on his bed, shocked and coughing. Chuck moved next to him and tried to make him react.

"Don't worry, pal, I'm here to help. Come on." Chuck tried to pick him up, but the kid reacted in a negative way, struggling.

"No! Mommy says I can't go with strangers!" Alberto said, scared. Chuck knew it would be really difficult to carry the kid if he was this scared.

"What's your name?" Chuck asked, in the kindest possible tone.

"A-Alberto Rodriguez." The kid replied.

"Good. I'm the ColoRed Chuck. Now we aren't strangers. Can I help you now?" Chuck said to him, trying to hurry up since the room now was getting hotter and filling with smoke.

"I guess... who said you were?" The kid asked, a little calmer now.

"A friend." Chuck said while offering the kid his hand. Alberto smiled at him, and allowed Chuck to carry him while covering the kid with the cape. Chuck ran out from the room, but noticed that the fire now was far bigger, so he couldn't escape the same way he entered.

Chuck turned to try jumping through Alberto's bedroom's window, but noticed the lawn was on fire as well, so that wasn't an option. Chuck moved to the other bedrooms, trying to find a safe way out. He noticed that the neighbors had a pool, not far away from the windows, and, apparently, it was a deep one.

"Alberto, I need you to take a medicine, okay? Don't worry, kid, we'll get out of here." Chuck told the kid. When he nodded, Chuck cut a section of Eddie's cape, and took a jar out from his shorts. He then took out a little Swiss Army blade Tommy gave to him as a birthday gift, and made a hole on the jar's cap. His plan was risky, but hadn't too many options.

"He had been there almost five minutes." Ray thought out loud while he and his neighbors looked at the burning house. The fire was so intense now, nobody could approach the house to keep throwing water or using the extinguishers.

"Hey, look, is The ColoRed Chuck! He's climbing to the roof!" Violet pointed. As she said, Chuck was now going out from a window, and climbing to the house's roof.

"My baby! Where is him?" Reggie asked, concerned, when noticing the hero wasn't carrying Alberto.

Chuck walked through the roof, coughing, and stopped the contrary side the pool was visible. After hesitating for a minute or so, he dashed to the other side, and jumped from the roof.

**SSSPPLAAAASSSSHH!**

Chuck hardly reached the pool, falling on his back. Everybody ran next to the pool, and saw his gasping head emerging from the water. A moment later, the house collapsed, and the second floor was covered by the flames as well.

"Alberto..." Twister, who had handled to move next to the pool thanks to Sammy and Otto's help, looked at the house with a shocked expression, while Reggie buried her face on her father's chest, crying loudly. Tito and Eddie, with tears on their eyes, helped Chuck going out from the pool.

"Don't feel bad, bro. You did a very brave attempt." Tito said to the hero, who was looking down with a pained expression.

"Yes... and a successful one!" Chuckie said, smiling, while taking out the jar from his shorts. He opened it, and a little human head popped out from the jar.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever done!" Alberto exclaimed in happiness. Everybody turned to see the jar, not believing what was in front of their eyes.

"I gave him one of my Shrinktolin's pills, and, since he is just a kid, he reduced to a smaller size than the one I usually turn. I put a little piece of the cape inside the jar to cushion it, and holed the cap to allow him to breath. My pocket is designed to support all the hits I receive without getting the jar broken, so it was the safest place to place the kid. Don't worry about the boy; he will be back to his normal size in a few minutes." Chuck explained.

"Mom, Dad, look, I'm okay!" Alberto said, excited. Twister, ignoring his pain, moved next to Reggie, who now was leaning to see their son. They both were crying, but, this time, because of happiness. A loud cheer was heard from the crowd, and it was even louder a minute later, when Alberto returned to his regular size and was hugged by his parents.

"Thanks, God! Thanks, God! Thanks, God!" Reggie said while she and Twister were kneeled, hugging their son. Then, she lifted her head, looking at Chuck, who was using both Tito and Eddie for support, since his body ached so much he couldn't stand by himself.

"We'll never be able to pay you enough for this... thanks." Reggie wide smiled at Chuck.

"You're welcome. Oddly enough, this isn't the first time today I take a fall for a kid." Chuck said, smiling in reply. As much as his body was killing him, he couldn't deny he lived for these moments.


	4. Secret Origins

**- Secret Origins.**

"Oh, my... oh... to the right... a little more to the left... oooohhh! Yes! There is! Angie, I know I say this a lot, but I have to do it again... your hands are great!" Chuck said to his wife while laying face down on their bed. He was shirtless, and Angelica was massaging him with a special ointment, attending the wounds he got from his rescue on the burning building three days ago; by this time, the bruises and the pain were almost totally gone.

"Is nice to feel appreciated. Well, that will do it." Angelica said while finishing the massage with a playful slapping on Chuck's back. "I don't know what's more amazing; how easily you bruise, or how fast you recover." She commented while sitting next to him.

"Well, since I receive so many hits regularly, my body developed a good healing factor. Of course, some external help is always welcome; right after I fell on the pool, the guys at Ocean Shore attended me before I called you to summon me back. And you are a wonderful nurse." Chuck told her, smiling.

"Someone is feeling better, uh?" Angelica smirked, and then leaned to kiss him; Chuck kissed and hugged the blonde back. They were cut by a coughing sound.

"Ehem! Ehem! Sorry to interrupt, guys." Chuck and Angelica turned, and saw a young man, about two or three years younger than Chuck, next to them. The curious thing about him was that his hair was white, his eyes were green, and was dressed with a black jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, and a "D" symbol in the middle of his chest... and he was hovering a few inches over the floor.

"Nobody around here knows how to knock a door?" Angelica said, frowning.

"Sorry. I just came to give Chuck his antennae back, like he told me." The guy said, handling Chuck the antennae of his disguise. Besides helping him locate enemies, the antennae were the device that allowed Chuck to receive the distress calls and be transported to the right place, plus getting A.M. from the local radio stations.

"Thanks, Danny. And thanks again for covering me these last three days." Chuck said in a kind tone while grabbing the antennae. Since he wasn't on his top shape because of the impact he got when jumping at the pool, Chuck asked the UHPS for a substitute, and Danny Phantom volunteered.

"You're welcome. Man, I don't know how you handle having those all the time." Danny commented. "I got summoned eight times in three different towns; half of them were because of a robbery or an accident, but the others were for domestic violence incidents or kids who needed some advice... and those things aren't exactly the kind of stuff I usually attend."

"That's his job; a one man's 911 global service." Angelica said while pointing at Chuck. Danny and Chuck chuckled, and, once Danny said his "good-byes", he phased through the wall and flew away under the twilight's sky.

"No wonder he doesn't knock the doors... he just phases through them." Angelica said while moving next to the window, looking at the flying guy. One of the coolest things about being married with Chuckie was the chance of befriending other heroes and their families. Danny had come to their home at times for dinner, as well as Monkeyman, Kim Possible, and Catman... of course, the last one spent more time talking with Fluffy than with Chuck and Angelica.

"Well, I guess I'll be back to work tomorrow. I'll better call Dil later to pick up my new jar." Chuckie told Angie while placing his antennae back on the disguise's hood. When he reduced the kid and placed him inside the jar, he had to drop all the remaining pills to make some space, so now he had none, and, even if the reducing trick made him more vulnerable, it certainly was a useful one.

"But that will be much later, Mister Hero. You have other duties right now." Angelica said to him in a stern tone.

"I know. I have to take out the garbage and clean Fluffy's litter box." Chuck sighed, rolling his eyes. Angelica chuckled and placed her arms around his neck.

"Yep... but, before that..." Angie talked in a seductive tone, and then she and Chuck returned to what they were doing before Danny's interruption.

**X-X-X-X**

Meanwhile (hey, I want to keep a certain rating here, people; in other words, let's give the couple some privacy), in the penthouse of Everwood's best hotel, Super Hunk, wearing a blue bath robe instead of his disguise, but conserving the mask, was enjoying a drink while standing on the terrace, looking at the city with a smug expression. He was living the way he always dreamed with, and nothing would ruin it.

"Nice place you got, Nick." Super Hunk turned in surprise, looking at the person who had directed to him using his civilian name. A few feet over the penthouse, and without doing any noise, was a hover car, with a twenty-something medium sized guy (slightly shorted than Super Hunk) driving it. He pressed a button on his vehicle, and landed it safely next to Super Hunk; then, the pilot removed his protective helmet and goggles, revealing a medium-length brown hairdo, bright blue eyes, and a head bigger than normal, but that seemed almost natural on him. The young man was wearing an open lab coat, and a red shirt with a yellow atom symbol on the middle, as well as blue jeans and red sneakers.

"Well, well, Neutron, long time without seeing you. Can you please don't call me by my civilian name? When I'm on disguise, my name is Super Hunk... and I'm always on disguise." SH directed to his visitor with a bored expression.

"Why using a mask, **Nick**? I thought you were in love with your reflex on the mirror." James Isaac "Jimmy" Neutron, Young Genius, said to Nick while crossing his arms and doing emphasis on Super Hunk's real name.

"Well, besides protecting my identity in case any meddling so-called-genius decides to pay me a visit, I use the mask to protect my fans. They wouldn't be able to handle all my natural handsomeness without it. I mean, if being handsome was a sin, I wouldn't have God's forgiveness." Nick said while admiring his reflex on the terrace's crystal table. Jimmy shook his head.

"As humble as usual, right? Look, Nick, or Super Hunk, or... how you called yourself in the interview this afternoon? The Caped Crusader? You are lucky I'm the one visiting you instead of that other guy; you know, tall, dark, no sense of humor, and can kick your butt in five seconds, powers and all?" Jimmy said, half-joking, making Nick to scowl at him.

"We are far away from Retroville, Neutron. What are you doing here? The Mayor finally decided to kick you out of town because of your experiments, or Vortex changed you for another guy with more style?" Nick replied with a smirk. Jimmy frowned.

"Cindy and I are very happy, thanks for asking. And funny thing you mentioned my experiments, because that's the reason I came. I want you to come back to Retroville with me so I can finally give you a complete check-up, you know, the one I had been almost begging you to perform?" Jimmy told him in a serious tone. Nick chuckled.

"Neutron, you have a serious ego problem. You can't stand the fact I got the great super powers you wanted for yourself, and want to get rid of them, right? Of course, I can't blame you. Who wouldn't like to be like me? I'm so glorious, I know... so handsome, look well... I'm gorgeous, gallant, stunning, I'm precious! I'm so divine... so exquisite... I'm cool, fine, strong, and also modest." Nick said, almost singing, while returning to see his reflex.

"Oh, mother." Jimmy said while closing his eyes and shaking his head. He remembered that the only man-related things visible from outer space are Las Vegas at night and Nick's ego, therefore he needed to be more severe with Nick to truly have his attention, so he made the hero to turn and look at his eyes.

"Let me refresh your memory, you big dope! Many years ago, my friends and I got superpowers because of cosmic radiation that was so strong it was killing us because our bodies couldn't contain that energy. I was able to cure us, and then spent the next ten years trying to find a way to use the powers in a safe way. Exactly three years ago, I thought I succeeded, thanks to a machine that would duplicate that energy while adapting our bodies to it, so the secondary effects would be avoided... but certain ignorant, who thought he was just too cool to care about the safety rules, decided to sneak into my lab right after I left the defenses down to allow Cindy and the others to enter, and this idiot started playing with my machine while I was explaining my friends how it worked. As a result, the machine exploded, and the fool inside it got the whole charge." Jimmy said, more than slightly upset. Nick sighed, annoyed, while rubbing his temples; Jimmy's little speech gave him a slight headache.

"Well, it worked, isn't it? If I remember right, that energy was supposed to increase a person's natural skills, and make them into super powers; super-speed for your hyperactive friend, strength and invulnerability for your tough girlfriend, and so. In my case, it increased my already great charm, and, since I had always been athletic, I gained some super-strength as well." Nick said to Jimmy, turning to avoid his eyes.

"But those are theories, Nick, and you know it! You never allowed me to give you a good check-up after the explosion. I think your body had created some sort of aura that increases the effect of your pheromones and the degree of persuasion of your voice and eyes... gives you "Super Charm", as you call it, and yes, your theory about the origin of your strength seems to be accurate, but, then again, they are just that, theories. We don't know if you'll develop any kind of disease, or if your powers will kill you in a few years, or months, or even days! The only thing I know for sure is that the energy inside your body, luckily, isn't harmful for the people around you, but you really need to come back to Retroville with me, or, at least, allow me to give you a complete check-up here. Even if you're not my favorite person in the world, Nick, I don't want any bad thing happening to you." Jimmy said to Nick, totally honest. The hero, however, had other plans.

"Sorry, Neutron, but I can't. I finally got the right city for me... not a little town in the middle of nowhere, but a good sized one, without a real hero, that worships me, and I'm not quitting to it." Nick replied.

"They have The ColoRed Chuck." Jimmy said. He felt partially responsible for Nick's powers, and didn't want The ColoRed Chuck to lose his place as the hero of his own city because of him. Even Chuck's daring rescue in Ocean Shore was ignored by the local press, since Super Hunk was getting all the attention.

"As I already said, no real hero. I want to be the only one in town; I was thinking about Los Angeles, but I like that place for relaxing or partying, not working, and New York is cool, but it has a lot of superheroes there... The Avengers, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, the guy with the webs..." Nick said in an annoyed tone.

"How about our town, Retroville?" Jimmy asked..

"Please, you already are the local hero... you also are the local headache, but usually you're considered the hero." Nick said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay... and, how about Washington?" Jimmy proposed.

"Freakazoid." Nick said.

"Jump City?" Jimmy said.

"The Teen Titans." Nick replied.

"Big City?"

"Blue Falcon and Dynomutt."

"Amity Park?"

"Danny Phantom."

"Dimmsdale?"

"Catman."

"Hillwood?"

"Monkeyman, and those girls in spy suits."

"Central City?"

"The Flash."

"Metropolis?"

Nick gave Jimmy a you-must-be-crazy look. Jimmy sighed.

"I guess Gotham is out of question as well." Jimmy commented. Nick shook his head.

"Look, Neutron, as amusing as this visit was... no, I'm kidding, this visit wasn't amusing at all. Anyway, I already gave you a lot of my precious time, and Betty and Brittney are waiting for me. Want to go now... or maybe say "Hi" to Betty before leaving, just to remember she chose me over you?" Nick said to Jimmy, grinning. Jimmy sighed, and put back his helmet while placing a card on the table, and returning to his hovercar.

"Tell her and Brittney I send my greetings, please. If you change your mind, or start feeling woozy or something like that, call me; my number is on the card. Oh, and Nick? I'm not jealous of you and Betty; I used to have a crush on her, but now I'm in love with a marvelous girl who's waiting for me at home, and I didn't need any super-power to conquer her." Jimmy said to Nick while the vehicle started hovering away. Nick growled silently while rubbing his stomach.

"That Neutron. As if I would ever accept his so-called help. Just five minutes of talking with him, and he already caused me a headache and a indigestion." Nick said to himself, and then entered the penthouse, returning to his usual care-free mood.

**X-X-X-X**

The next morning, Chuck and Angelica arrived at her uncles' house that also was the designing place for Pickles Toys, and where Dil lived and had his own laboratory-workshop. It was pretty early, so Angelica could give Chuckie a ride there to pick up the pills, and stay for a few minutes before going work. She also was curious about Dil's lab; it was located at the basement, and Angie hadn't been there in years.

"Oh, Angelica, Chuckie, good morning! Dil told us you would pay us a fast visit today, but I weren't expecting you so early." Didi, Angelica's aunt, received them at the door. Neither she nor her husband, Stu, knew about Chuckie's real activities and Dil helping him, so the couple had to be pretty careful when talking with them.

"Well, Aunt Didi, I have to go to the office in a while, so I decided to bring Chuckie here on my way there. I also want to see the place where my little alien-seeker cousin spends all day." Angelica said while she and Chuckie gave Didi a little hug each.

"Oh, he stopped looking for aliens years ago, Angelica. Now he stays on that basement almost all day because of his work." Didi replied, rolling her eyes but keeping her usual smile.

"Well, I'll try to convince him to stop working for a while and have breakfast with us, Didi. See you in a moment." Chuckie said to the woman while smiling at her and walking to the basement's door. Didi nodded, and Angelica followed him.

The first thing they saw when walking down the stairs was Stu Pickles working on a new invention, as usual. The basement didn't seem to have changed that much; it was still the same old place filled up with tools, half-made inventions, and assorted boxes and stuff.

"Hey, Uncle Stu, how are you?" Angelica directed to her uncle, making him to notice the couple. Stu smiled and nodded to greet them.

"Nice to see you two down here! Excuse me for not offering you the hand, but I have them grease-covered. Dil is on the third level, as usual." Stu informed them. Chuckie thanked him, and then he guided Angelica through her uncle's mess, reaching a hidden door. Chuckie opened it, and they started walking down another stairway.

"Never imagined my uncles had another basement." Angelica said, surprised.

"It was built just a few years ago, Angie. Actually, the basement is composed by three levels. The first one, where we saw your uncle, is where he usually works. This one, the second, is where he and Dil test their inventions; it has the thickest walls, and nothing around thatmight get burned. The final one, where we are going, is Dil's working station, where he works almost all the time (except when he is helping his dad with something), designing toys and video games, and preparing the stuff I need as The ColoRed Chuck." Chuckie explained his wife while reaching the second level; as he said, it was mostly empty, except for a few crates and broken pieces of machinery.

The couple reached the third level. Unlike the other two, this one had a thick steel door at the end of the stairway, with a keyboard and a safety camera on it. Chuckie pressed some keys, introducing a password, and then the door opened. This level looked a lot more like a real lab, with plenty of computer's screens, pieces of machinery, and assorted stuff here and there. Angelica was truly impressed; she knew Dil was a very creative guy, but never imagined how much.

"Hi, guys!" Dil, wearing a colorful hawaiian shirt under his white lab coat, as well as red shorts, and a funny looking hat, greeted Chuckie and Angelica while keeping with his work, sitting behind a computer, and sending a series of instructions.

"Hello, Dil. Working on a new game?" Chuck asked while moving next to him. Dil nodded.

"Yep. This game is going to be a hit, really. Is a basic platform game, and the character can throw fire, do karate movements, fly, use plenty of cool weapons..." Dil explained.

"Let me guess; the main purpose of the game is kicking the ass of about every enemy you find on your way, right?" Angelica asked in a knowing tone. Dil shook his head.

"Nope, but thanks for playing. The real purpose is exaclty the oppossite; finishing the game hitting the least enemies you can. You see, the character will start the game with one thousand points, and, every time he uses his powers, the points will go down. The player will need to use mainly stealth maneuvers while having the temptation of using the character's powers." Dil explained. Angelica and Chuckie rolled their eyes; only Dil could create a game like that.

"I have to add a few more details here, Chuckie. Why don't you show Angelica the "hero testing" area while I finish? I'll give you the pills then." Dil told Chuckie. The glassed carrot-top rolled his eyes.

"Can't show her something else, Dil? You surely have another game around here to entertain yourself at times." Chuck said to Dil. Angelica smirked, and placed her arm around Chuck's shoulders.

"You're trying to hide something from me, uh? Sorry, Finster, but, as your wife, I have the duty of learning about all your little secrets." Angelica said to him.

"I don't remember the priest saying that, Angelica." Chuck said, arching an eyebrow.

"But you remember the part of _"Obey and respect her"_, right? Well, then show me what you're trying to hide now, or next time I massage you, I'll add mustard to the ointment, among other things." Angelica replied while poking his nose. Chuck knew that the little detail of him and Angie loving each other more than life itself wouldn't stop her from doing what she said, so he gave up and guided her to another part of the lab. They stopped in front of several dummies, all of them wearing some sort of superhero's outfit.

"These are the prototype suits Dil designed when we decided to create my superhero's ID. Luckily, Didi knows some of Dil and Stu's inventions can be dangerous, so she never comes to this level, and Stu knows about how important is privacy for a creative mind, so none of them had discovered the disguises. At the end, none worked but The ColoRed Chuck's one." Chuckie informed her. Angelica gave a long look to the disguises; some of them were even dumber than his current suit, but others were really cool ones.

"And why you rejected these ones?" Angelica asked.

"Well, when a superhero designs his suit, it most fit the personality or the attitude of the wearer, or from the character he represents. Even if I have to show-off a little when I use my disguise, The ColoRed Chuck is basically a slightly braver version of myself; I don't have to pretend having a different personality when I use the suit, unlike all of these, that demanded me to have a more aggressive or arrogant attitude." Chuckie explained. Then, he sighed, and chuckled slightly.

"And, besides, I had a few accidents when testing these ones." Chuck told Angelica, and started narrating those incidents.

_**FLASHBACK.**_

An almost eight years-younger Chuck stood up at the middle of the second basement's level. He was wearing some sort of yellow jumpsuit, hood included.

"Are you sure this will work, Dil?" Chuckie asked his friend, located behind him.

"Of course I'm sure. I made it for Tommy so he can resist any attack or accident while traveling on those archeological expeditions he goes, but he declined my offer, so I'm giving it to you. Now, press the button on your left palm." Dil instructed Chuckie. He gulped, and, after a few seconds of hesitation, pressed the button. A moment later, the whole suit started inflating, and changing its form. When the process ended, Chuck seemed to be covered by a thick yellow armor.

"YEESS! Introducing... The Armadillo!" Dil exclaimed in happiness. Chuck tried to move to check out the suit's mobility.

WHAAAM!

Chuckie fell on his chest, and wasn't able to stand up.

"Too... heavy... can't... move... or... talk... correctly..." Chuckie said in a pained voice. Dil slapped his forehead, and helped him get out of the suit.

The scene changed, and now Chuckie was wearing a 30's-style jacket, cape, mask (with the glasses under it) and pants, all in different shades of purple; the outfit was complete by a gray fedora and a blue turtleneck. Chuckie was reading something from a piece of paper.

"Dil, this character is a little too arrogant for my taste... and, actually, this introduction is kind of scary. I want to be respected by criminals, but also make the regular people to trust me." Chuckie told Dil, who was right in front of him.

"Believe me, pal, this ID will be great. Just read that introduction in the most dramatic tone you can." Dil told him. Chuck decided to give it a try, and started reading the introduction like Dil said.

"I'm the Terror that Flaps in the Night! I'm the Pain in the Neck of Crime! I, am... DARKWIIIIIING CHUCK!" Chuck ended the introduction with a dramatic heroic pose. Dil smiled widely.

"Cool! Now, repeat it, but use the smoke cloud this time. It will give the entrance a more dramatic effect." Dil said while moving a few steps back. Chuck nodded and activated a hidden mechanism on the jacket, releasing a blue smoke screen that covered him in a second.

"I'm_...-cough-..._the_...–cough-..._ Terror_...-cough-..._ that Flaps in the Night_...-cough-_ I am the_...-cough-..._ Pain_...-cough-..._ in the Neck... of Crime_...-cough, cough-..._ I, am_... –cough, cough-..._ I am_... –cough, cough-..._ I AM ALLERGIC TO THIS SMOKE, DIL! _–cough, cough, cough, cough, cough-_..." Chuck ended in a raspy voice while coughing without control and waving his cape trying to clean the air.

The scene changed again. Now Chuckie was wearing a green jumpsuit, red mask (still, with the glasses under it), and dark blue gloves, belt, and boots... and, from the top of his head to the end of his back, he had some fake fur mimicking a skunk's, tail and all.

"I don't know who is crazier, Dil; you, for inventing this stuff, or me for using it." Chuck said to Dil, rolling his eyes. The inventor ignored his voice's tone, and placed a hand on Chuck's shoulders.

"Hey, you want to be both respected and trusted, right? Well, no creature is as respected by predators as a skunk, and it's also a funny looking animal, so it fits well for the job's description. I think The Skunk Man is perfect for you." Dil told him. Chuck shook his head.

"Okay, but what about my breathing? Darkwing Chuck wasn't exactly the best thing that had ever happened to my sinusitis." Chuck commented; it was a valid point, since The Skunk Man was supposed to have a gas attack.

"I have that solved. You'll use this fake skunk's snout; it has a gas mask inside it, just like the one I'll use for the suit's test." Dil told him while putting the device on Chuck's nose.

"You take advantage of my nobleness." Chuck groaned; now he really looked like a giant skunk.

"Okay, now, press the belt's button to test the stinky attack." Dil said while putting a gas mask and protective goggles himself. Chuck sighed, but obeyed. He pressed the button, and the disguise's tail started wagging, releasing a wide cloud of yellow gas that filled the whole room.

"I think this one might work after all, Dil, but, how about the innocent by-standers? What's going to protect them from the gas?" Chuck commented. Dil scratched his chin.

"You know, I hadn't thought about that." Dil admitted.

THUMP!

Chuck and Dil heard a hitting sound coming from the first level. They ran upstairs, and found Stu on the floor, with his face totally green, knocked out because of some gas that could pass from the second level.

"Eh... if he asks about the smell, let's just say we ate some burritos, okay?" Dil said nervously to Chuckie.

_**END FLASHBACK.**_

Angelica was almost rolling on the floor because of laughter, while Chuck, even if he had a embarrassed look, was trying his best to hold his own.

"Honestly, I don't know how Dil got all those ideas! The Skunk Man! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Angelica laughed loudly. Chuck couldn't contain himself any more, and chuckled a little.

"Now you see why I stayed with The ColoRed Chuck. At least is safer." Chuck commented. Angelica, slowly, stopped laughing, and directed to him, in a slightly more serious tone.

"And, how he got the idea for that one?" Angelica asked. At that moment, Dil approached the couple, and started answering Angelica's question.

"Well, you can say I designed the suit because of the antennae. I had the idea of giving Chuckie a way to detect the distress calls, so I created the antennae, and they worked well, but there was the problem of making a suit that would fit them. In a regular superhero's outfit, they would look out of place, and totally ridiculous, so I decided to work on a funny disguise instead of a scary or impressive one. At the end, the design also helped us to distract the attention from Chuckie's face, and that's very important because he has to wear the glasses all the time (with all the hits he receives, wearing contacts would be more dangerous) and that's pretty uncomfortable while using a mask, so he can't wear one to protect his ID; of course, I designed him some special glasses that are impact-resistant." Dil explained.

"And why you chose the red color, or the heart's symbol?" Angelica asked, very interested.

"I studied a little of the colors' psychological effect, and red represents courage... it also represents anger, so I decided to include some yellow on the suit to cool down that effect a little. And the heart, well, Chuck was rejected from the Police because the instructors said he wasn't brave or skilled enough to be a cop, and the only thing he had that could justify his vocation was his heart, always willing to help his fellow citizens, so that gave me the idea for the symbol." Dil replied.

"Yep, that's my Finster. He's pure heart." Angelica said, smiling at Chuckie, who blush a little.

"Eight months of marriage, and you still blush when she smiles at you? That must be love." Dil said in a joking tone. Chuck and Angelica chuckled.

Dil gave Chuckie his new jar, and then the trio walked upstairs to have breakfast with Dil's parents. When they left the basement, they saw Stu and Didi watching TV on the living room, with wide-open eyes.

"What's going on? Bad news?" Chuck asked, his superhero's instinct on alert, while he, Angelica and Dil walked next to the elder couple. Then, they noticed Super Hunk was on screen.

"That's right, my dear citizens. Since I like this town so much, I'll give you guys the great gift of having me as a permanent resident hero... and, to protect the city more efficiently, your gorgeous mayor had agreed on making me the official superhero of Everwood, which means I'll be the only hero allowed to perform, well, heroic stunts within the city's limits." Super Hunk said in his usual cool tone.

Chuck, Angie, and Dil's jaws fell in surprise, wide-opening their eyes.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Chuck finally handled to say.


	5. A Hero, No More?

**- A hero, no more?**

"For those people who just turned on their TV sets, we'll inform you that, less than a minute ago, Super Hunk declared that he'll be Everwood's official superhero, with the authorities' support, and no other hero will be allowed to do any heroic stunt inside the city's limits." Doddie appeared on screen, next to SH and his assistants, surrounded by several other reporters.

"Why you aren't allowing other heroes in the city?" A random reporter asked SH.

"There are several reasons. The first one is that, despite their good intentions, most heroes, while doing their stuff, cause some collateral damage to the property, and, since they have secret identities, they avoid their responsibility. The ColoRed Chuck, for example, he isn't even a super powered hero but, the last time he caught Bumble Man, he still handled to damage the bank's electric system, and he paid for it? Of course not! I, on the other hand, will have the city supporting my actions, and paying for any damage I might cause while doing my labor. If any other hero wants to be, well, heroic, in this city, he or she will need to do what any other person would do when performing a civilian arrest; being able to identify themselves with their real names, so they can take responsability of their actions." Super Hunk explained.

At the Pickles' residence, Chuckie, Angelica, Dil, and Dil's parents, Didi and Stu, were watching the whole scene on TV. The youngsters had to control themselves to avoid revealing Chuckie's secret ID to the elder couple, but they couldn't keep themselves quiet.

"Of course he damaged the electric system, but he did it fighting for his life while defending all the persons at the bank! I was there, you dope!" Angelica yelled at the TV. Chuck wanted to yell too, but he limited to clench his fists; he would need to reveal his secret ID to keep doing his job on his home town, and that was way too risky for Angelica and anyone else related with him to even consider it. On screen, SH continued his speech.

"Second, there's the whole psychological effect. The ColoRed Chuck has no super powers, or cool gadgets; he is just a hand-to-hand fighter, and not exactly a great one. How can an average citizen feel safe knowing his or her safety is in the hands of someone with those limited capacities? Not to mention the depressing effect on the police force. Imagine how the poor cops feel when knowing their job is being done by someone who's weaker than them, and still he gets the recognition of the citizens; having The ColoRed Chuck as the city's main hero is an insult to our great Police Department." SH explained.

"Kimi is a captain, and she had never complained about my... I mean The ColoRed Chuck's labor! She and almost all the other cops had always been grateful for his help!" Chuckie snapped at the scene.

"Also, there's the tourism detail. As the city's main hero, I'll make many tourists to come here, wanting a chance to get a closer look of yours truly and my magnificent presence. I'll make the city earn some extra money, and that will surely cover for the cash used to pay for my expenses, and even more. And, finally, who do you think is more frightening for a criminal? The ColoRed Chuck with his ridiculous antennae and mallet, or the super-powered and handsome human specimen in front of you?" Super Hunk ended while posing, getting some approving comments from the crowd.

"But, despite his limitations, The ColoRed Chuck had always been able to protect us." Another random reporter said. SH chuckled.

"Yes, but, just look at his rogues' gallery. He has a regular criminal, that Tim Thug guy, who can be handled by any policeman; he also has out of age and style pirates and cowboys, and a cat burglar who, despite looking good, isn't a great fighter; a so-called master spy who isn't that dangerous, and a few fools with cheesy disguises. I mean, The Bumble Man? Anyone with half a brain and some guts can handle him! All of them are nothing but a piece of cake for any competent hero; with me here, they'll surely prefer to stay locked in jail instead of trying to escape and confront a far superior hero. So, you see, everything is for the city's welfare; as long as I'm available, there will be no other heroes allowed in Everwood." Super Hunk said in his usual proud tone.

"Hey, all of them are dangerous criminals! They are robbers, kidnappers, bullies... this guy doesn't know what he is talking about!" Dil said, really upset.

"Of course, I don't want anyone to think I'm kicking The ColoRed Chuck out of business. Oh, no. He'll still be able to do his so-called heroic job in other cities. And, if he honestly feels like doing a better job than me, well, I'll be waiting for him today at the city hall, so he can reply in person. And, if he wants to fight me for the right of being the city's protector, I'll accept to show everybody who is the more qualified crime-fighter. You hear me, CH? You have until five o' clock; don't make me wait." SH concluded, arching an eyebrow to the camera in front of him. Everyone around him started making a lot of comments and answers, but it seemed the general feeling about his announcement was a positive one.

Everyone at the Pickles' place got silent, looking at the screen. Didi broke the silence with a deep sigh.

"I always thought The ColoRed Chuck was a good hero... but Super Hunk has pretty solid points. He surely is a better role model for kids." Didi commented.

"Yes... I mean, he is super strong, and can handle criminals far easier than The ColoRed Chuck. What does that red guy has, really?" Stu said. Angelica glared at her uncles.

"MY GRATITUDE! Had you forgotten he had saved my life, like, three times, if you count the bank's incident? He is more a hero than Super Hunk will ever be!" Angelica said in a really upset tone; maybe she couldn't defend Chuck in public as his wife, but she could defend her protector. Chuck looked at her with fond eyes, silently thanking her support.

"Calm down, Angelica. Nobody denies all the good things he had done in the past, but, if he really cares about people, he should retire so a more competent hero can take his place." Didi said to Angie, trying to tranquilize her. The blonde really wanted to say more, but she didn't want to offend her aunt, so she just took a deep breath and continued in a more calm tone.

"I know he isn't the mightiest guy around, but... he had saved so many people, and asks for nothing in reply but an occasional "Thank You" or something like that. All his effort was for nothing?" Angie said to her aunt; obviously, she was also directing to Chuckie.

"Well, he can always accept Super Hunk's challenge, and prove he is good enough to remain as the city's hero." Stu commented, rubbing his chin. Chuck, Dil, and Angelica paled, and wide opened their eyes.

"I hope he doesn't, Stu. There's already too much violence on TV. Enough of that; everyone come to the kitchen so we can have breakfast." Didi said in her usual good-natured way while motioning everyone to go into the kitchen. Stu stood up from his couch, and walked next to her. Chuckie and Angelica nodded to each other, and made a little signal to Dil.

"Oops! I forgot to turn off the game I'm testing. I'll better go down and do it, or it might get ruined." Dil said in a perfectly acted concerned tone. Chuckie placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You spend too much time down there, Dil. Let me turn it off for you, okay?" Chuck said to Dil while winking an eye to him.

"I'm going with you, Finster. You're so clumsy you might end burning the machine by accident." Angelica said while walking next to him. They excused themselves with Didi and Stu, and walked down the stairs, closing the door, and stopping in the first level.

"That Super Hunk... is a super abusive! I offer him a hand, and he takes the foot!" Chuck said in a very annoyed tone, once he was sure nobody could hear them.

"You really have to do something about that jerk! Can't ask one of your friends to send him to China, or something like that? Clark can do it without breaking a sweat." Angelica proposed. Chuck shook his head.

"No; Super Hunk is a jerk, but he's no fool. By making this a public challenge, he's forcing me, and just me, to face him. If any other hero backs me up on this one, it will seem I'm not capable of defending myself, and that would support his theory of me not being a competent hero. And, if I don't go, I'll be considered the city's biggest chicken... in both of my identities!" Chuck said while pacing back and forth.

"Maybe I can ask Dil or any of the UHPS' inventors to create a device to sense Super Hunk's energy, and prove he's using his powers to manipulate people." Chuck thought out loud.

"In less than twelve hours? I don't think so. And, besides, many people might not believe on the device's effect, and the media would say that's an attempt to ruin Super Hunk's reputation with a cheap trick." Angelica told his husband. Being a business woman, she knew all the tricks in the book concerning negotiation and ruining/improving public image, both for fighting and doing them, and, unfortunately, at the time being, SH had a clear advantage.

"So, I guess the only thing I can do is attending that meeting." Chuckie sighed. Angelica gulped, and immediately switched to her authoritarian mode.

"You aren't going to fight him, right? Because, if you even consider that, I'll tie you to the fridge, bury your antennas, auction the mallet on E-Bay...!" Angelica snapped at him. Chuck looked at her with a shocked expression, but immediately changed to a warm one.

"I know you worry about me, Angie. Don't need to use that tone." Chuckie told her, smiling. Angelica expression softened, and changed her annoyed eyes by concerned ones.

"I understand you risking your life when saving people... but I don't want you to be injured because of a stupid high-testosterone jerk trying to show-off his strength." Angelica said, looking down. Chuckie sighed, and lifted Angie's chin, smiling at her.

"Don't be afraid. His act serves me as well, because none of us can throw a single punch to the other to start a public fight without risking our reputation. If I do it, I'll be the jealous hero, and, if he does, he'll be the bully one. I'll go to that meeting, and face him with something he doesn't count." Chuck told her.

"Your cleverness?" Angelica smirked.

"Nope... your support, as well as the one's from the people that still believe in me. Surely, there will be a few ones at the City Hall today." Chuckie explained. Angelica smiled, and then they kissed for a few seconds.

"I'll be there with all my support... and, if that doesn't work, I'll bring a few spoiled eggs, just in case." Angelica told Chuckie after breaking the kiss, making him to chuckle.

"I know you will. Maybe this will not be so bad, because I might be able to finally solve this problem, even if he has some advantages here. But, as the old and known proverb says, Whose laugh the last, you go to the mountain!" Chuck said in his expert tone. Angelica rolled her eyes while Chuckie shook his head, realizing his mistake.

"No, no... okay… If the mountain doesn't come to you, laughs the best!" Chuckie tried (and failed) to correct his proverb, slapping his forehead when realizing his new mistake.

"No, that's not okay! Let's see... if you laugh the last, is because you didn't get the joke, and someone has to explain it to you... and you go to the mountain to avoid distractions and focus on understanding that joke. Of course, the mountain doesn't come to you... and if it does, then it's an avalanche, and you better run..." Chuckie was cut by another kiss, a little longer than the first one.

"I got the idea." Angelica said when they broke the kiss, happy for finding a way to stop Chuckie's non-sense talking. Chuck chuckled a little, and then they walked upstairs.

**X-X-X-X**

Angelica arrived at Merge Corp about an hour later. She just had entered her office when her secretary told her that her mother, Charlotte, the company's CEO, wanted to talk with the blonde. Angelica directed to Charlotte's office, and, once Jonathan, her mother's assistant, told her she could pass, she opened the door, gasping when noticing who was sitting in front of her mother's desk.

"Oh, Angelica, come in. I think you already met our handsome guest, Super Hunk, and his assistants." Charlotte directed to her daughter while SH and his companions turned to see her.

"Oh, yes, the delightful young Mrs Pickles... sorry, I forgot your husband's last name." SH said to Angelica in his usual cool tone while looking at her eyes. However, this time his famous charm didn't affect Angelica as previously.

"Finster. My husband's last name is Finster, Mister Hunk. Can you inform me about the motives of your visit?" Angelica said while crossing her arms, containing her desire of strangling the man in front of her. Super Hunk raised an eyebrow in surprise, wondering about how she was resisting his charisma.

"Well, Angelica, he just came to sign a contract with us concerning the exclusivity of all his related merchandise. T-shirts, toys, coffee mugs... you name it, we'll make it." Charlotte told her daughter. Angelica shook her head in disbelief.

"Mother... there must be a mistake. We're about to launch The ColoRed Chuck's toys, do you remember? We can't support both heroes, especially if one is about to replace the other." Angelica directed to her mother while throwing a fast glare at SH.

"Well, Angie... I can call you Angie, right? Since I'll be the city's official hero, and, as you just said, replace The Color-Fool Chuck, his toys aren't going to be a well-accepted product, but mine will be the biggest thing that had ever happened to this town since I arrived." SH smirked at Angelica.

"I know you have personal reasons to support The ColoRed Chuck, Angelica. After all, he saved your life, and I'm very grateful as well, but, you know, this is business." Charlotte told Angie, noticing how tense she seemed to be.

"Of course, Mother. Business and personal feelings don't mix." Angelica said, looking down. Super Hunk stood up, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Good you see things my way, Pretty. Now, how about me doing you the best offer of your life, and allow you to have a coffee with me and my assistants?" Super Hunk said in a very seductive tone. Angelica lifted her head, scowling at him; this surprised Super Hunk so much, he backed up a little while retiring his hand.

"I'll support the toys' idea, because you and the city are our clients... but, what I'm about to say, is totally personal!" Angelica snapped at SH. Charlotte gasped; she knew that, when Angelica was on that mood, even she couldn't stop her.

"First of all, don't call me "Angie"; only my friends and family can call me that way! Second, don't call me "Pretty"; I know I am, but only my husband can said it to me on that tone you used. Third, the guy you want to ruin isn't The Color-Fool Chuck... but THE COLORED CHUCK, a real hero who had faced danger without fancy powers to support him, and still triumphs! You might be handsome and strong, but I stopped admiring you the moment you opened that stupid mouth of yours to flatter yourself and attack The ColoRed Chuck! You want to replace HIM? You aren't even worthy of touching his antennas! Oh, and last, you're not even that handsome." Angelica said in her most venomous tone while poking SH's chest. Super Hunk 's jaw fell and, for the first time in ages, was speechless for almost a minute, until he started talking with evident shock on his voice..

"I'm not handsome?" Super Hunk gasped, while placing his hands on the sides of his head, and getting a blank expression. His assistants moved next to him, noticing he looked as if he was about to faint, and started rubbing his chin and chest.

"Don't hear at her, Hun. She is just jealous because her husband isn't as handsome as you... after all, who is?" Betty, the brunette, told him in a very kind tone. Super hunk smiled slightly.

"Yeah, she is right. I mean, you are so gorgeous, so strong, so cool..." Brittney, the blonde, tried to cheer him up as well. Super Hunk's grin got wider, and stood up on his usual heroic posture.

"Yes... yes, you two are right, my babes. Who on her right mind can deny the magnificence of my presence?" Super Hunk said in his cool tone. Angelica groaned, and started walking out of the room.

"Well, I'm out of here. Certain guy's ego is so big it needs all the space we can give to it. If you need me I'll be on my office, and, if you don't object, even if I'll support the company's decision, I'll also do the same with my hero. And, if you object, too bad, because I'm doing it anyway." She then turned and faced her mother.

"Don't worry, I'll only show in public my desire of keeping The ColoRed Chuck around, and having Super Hunk expelled, on my lunch break." Angie said to Charlotte right before leaving. Charlotte gasped.

"How she knew I was about to say that?" Charlotte talked to herself, and then made her best to convince SH about staying as her client.

**X-X-X-X**

That afternoon, around four o' clock, a huge crowd started surrounding the city's hall. As expected, there was a podium in front of the building, waiting for the heroes to arrive. Most of the police force was there for mass control, including Phil and Lil.

"Man, these persons have no jobs, or what?" Phil commented to his sister while taking a rest.

"This is a major event, Phil. Even if our city doesn't have a huge crime rate compared to other ones the same size, everybody knows that only happened thanks to the combined efforts of the Police Department and The ColoRed Chuck. It's always good to have some special help once in a while, and everyone wants to know who will be that helper, Super Hunk or The ColoRed Chuck." Lil replied with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah. By the way, who are you supporting? SH or The ColoRed Chuck?" Phil asked. Lil started rubbing her chin.

"Honestly? I have no idea. I mean, Super Hunk is obviously cooler, stronger... and boy, he is so handsome!" Lil got a dreamy expression. Phil chuckled.

"Yes, and he is always surrounded by pretty babes. The guy is great! And had you seen those videos of him catching criminals? He is marvelous!" Phil commented, excited. Lil nodded, but then returned to her thoughtful expression.

"Yes, but... The ColoRed Chuck had done so much for this city that just thinking about supporting SH feels like betrayal." Lil commented, rubbing her neck.

"I know what you mean. Some guys at the station said that he had been rescuing people and risking his life, as usual, but everybody ignores that because we're too busy worshiping SH. Chuck is receiving more support from other towns than from our." Phil told her, making both twins to feel slightly ashamed.

At that moment, Super Hunk and his assistants arrived on his Cadillac, causing that, immediately, several people at the crowd started asking for an autograph, a picture, or both. SH was expecting this kind of reaction, so he decided to arrive about an hour earlier to spend more time with his "audience" and attend it. All the cops had to make their best to control the large lines who were formed to receive SH's autographed pictures.

Angelica was already there, alongside Chuckie's parents, Dil and Tommy; they placed themselves among the other persons supporting The ColoRed Chuck. Sadly, their number was minimal compared with the SH's supporters.

"This doesn't look good." Chaz Finster commented, noticing the majority of people was supporting Super Hunk.

"I really feel like saying a few things to that guy." Kira said, with a very upset tone. Tommy directed to her.

"Keep your breath, Kira. That guy doesn't deserve people pointing at you for saying bad words." Tommy said.

"Yeah. Tell them to me, and I'll yell them to the jerk." Dil grinned while showing a megaphone to his friends. At that moment, a well known afro-American officer directed to the group.

"You'll better not, Dil. I would hate to arrest any of you for defending The ColoRed Chuck." Sgt Susie Carmichael said to her friends. She knew about Chuckie's secret ID, and, like them, had to be careful with her words with so many people around.

"I thought you would be supporting Super Hunk, Carmichael. Isn't that your job?" Angelica frowned at the cop. Susie sighed.

"My job is to help coordinate the other officers and keep this as peaceful and ordered as possible... but I'm not supporting Super Hunk. I admit I acted like a fool when meeting him at the station, but I guess I'm over him now, especially after I saw how hurt Harold was because of that. Sure, Harold isn't perfect, but he is the guy I love, and doesn't deserve me acting like a silly teen in front of any other man." Susie said, looking down. Angelica's features relaxed, and sighed as well.

"I know what you mean. The first time I saw this jerk I acted the same way... but, a few hours ago, I could give him a piece of my mind." Angelica said in a proud tone, making Susie to chuckle. At that moment, Sgt Harold Rumpkin approached the group; he didn't know about The ColoRed Chuck's real ID, but admired his work, so Angelica and the rest of the group could count with his support.

"Hi, guys. Susie, the commander and Kimi are almost here." Harold told her girlfriend-partner. Susie sighed, and got an annoyed look.

"I would hate being on Kimi's place. She has to sit next to SH, and look at him going against The ColoRed Chuck, and can't do a thing about it." Susie commented. Her friends got similar looks; since Kimi was a captain, and the youngest one the city ever had, she was a public figure as well, so had to be present in many special events, but, surely, she would like to skip this one.

"You know, I just thought about something." Harold said while rubbing his chin.

"Did it hurt?" Angelica replied, rolling her eyes. Harold, like usual, ignored the insult.

"If Super Hunk is here, The ColoRed Chuck is about to arrive, and most of the cops are in this part of town, then who is going to protect the rest of the city?" Harold said while scratching the back of his head. The Finsters, Susie, Angelica, and the Pickles siblings wide opened their eyes.

"Now you say it..." Susie immediately got a worried expression.


	6. A Busy Hero

**-A Busy Hero.**

"Okay, fool, don't move and you'll live." A man wearing a clown mask said to a mini-mart's manager while pinning him against the floor and threatening him with a blade. The criminal accomplices, a large guy with a gorilla mask, and a short one with a gopher one, were taking all the money from the register, and some assorted merchandise.

"Hey, boss, you want the chicken soup or the beef-flavored one?" The gopher asked the clown.

"The mushroom one. I'm vegetarian, remember?" The clown replied.

"What a great idea about robbing this place, boss. Almost all the cops are at that event at the hall." The gorilla commented while taking a few packages of cigars and placing them in a large bag.

"You said it, man. Maybe we can rob a few other places while those fools in tights yell at each other. Of course, we might need to hurt this guy a little so he can't ask for help while we do that." The clown replied, looking at his fallen prey. Unfortunately for the robbers, the mart wasn't as deserted as they expected; there was a boy inside the restroom (he entered just a minute before the robbers) so they didn't notice him, but he heard them.

"Oh, and now, who will rescue him?" The kid asked out loud to himself.

"Hey, here's the soup." The gopher said while approaching the large pile of canned soup.

**CRASH!** CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!...

"I!" Chuck emerged from behind the pile, making it to fall on top of the burglar, who was knocked out by the falling cans.

"The ColoRed Chuck!" The gorilla pointed. The clown made a double take, and growled.

"Didn't count with my cleverness! And let that man go!" Chuck said to the clown while pointing at him with his mallet.

_A clown. Why it had to be a clown?_ Chuck thought, remembering his old childish phobia to the clowns, but trying to keep his cool.

"Get him!" The clown forgot about his prey, and charged against Chuck, ordering the gorilla to help him. Chuck ran behind an aisle, with the criminals right behind him.

Chuck noticed various bottles in the aisle, and then had an idea. He started batting the bottles with his mallet, sending them against the crooks, hitting them several times. The best of all was that the bottles got opened by the impacts, and their filling fell on the floor, making it slippery and causing the criminals to fall on their backs.

Meanwhile, the kid had already helped the manager stand up, and the man activated the silent alarm. Chuck ran next to them, and motioned the pair to run out of the place while he stayed inside. The moment they left, Chuckie used a hose he grabbed from one aisle to tie the door so the criminals couldn't escape while the cops arrived. He then turned, looking at the approaching bandits, including the rodent, who was back on his feet.

"What a fool! He trapped himself here with us!" The clown said, laughing. Chuck frowned, and tightened his grip on his mallet.

"Nope. I trapped you here with me." Chuck said with a slight grin. He usually hated to risk himself this much when there was another way out, but this time he had a lot of stress because of Super Hunk's problem, and needed to let go some anger before facing him.

_Maybe I should start doing yoga to relief the stress. _Chuck thought while charging at the crooks.

**X-X-X-X**

"What? Yes, okay. Thanks for telling me. Bye." Susie hung off her communicator, and directed to her friends.

"Three guys on masks tried to rob a mini-mart, just ten streets away from here... and guess who stopped them." Susie said.

"Aquaman?" Harold asked with a silly grin, making everyone look at him with annoyed eyes.

"The Green Hornet?" Harold asked again, with a nervous smile. Everyone glared at him.

"Scooby Doo?" Harold said, with a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of his head. Everyone shook their heads.

"Give up." Harold sighed and rolled his eyes. Susie signed as well, and rubbed her temples.

_What do I see in him? Oh, yes, that._ Susie thought, getting a slight smile.

"Is he okay?" Angelica asked Susie, with obvious concern. Kira and Chaz had the same look.

"Yes, don't worry. The cops who made the arrest said he just got a couple of bruises, but nothing serious, as usual. What really worries me is how close the assault was from here. Obviously, this event is a golden chance for any criminal brave or fool enough to try a robbery with sunlight." Susie commented. Then, they all directed their attention to the podium, where SH was still signing autographs.

"And with that fool here, and so many cops already busy, The ColoRed Chuck will need a miracle to protect the city and arrive on time." Dil said, frowning.

"We can always summon him. That way he can be here in a couple of seconds." Harold proposed. Angelica shook her head.

"I don't think so. I'm no expert, but it seems he can't be summoned at the middle of a mission; if he is fighting a criminal, we wouldn't be able to call him anyway." Angelica said to the officer. Of course she was right; Dil decided it was a good idea to prevent Chuck being summoned out from a mission before finishing it, so he designed the antennae with that safety measure.

"_Please, Finster, do your best... but be careful,"_ Angelica thought while getting a concerned look, and watching at the podium.

**X-X-X-X**

Sneaky Savannah, the city's best known cat burglar, smiled widely. She had never made a robbery with sunlight, but this time she made an exception, and worked smoothly. The female criminal had handled to enter a penthouse, totally undetected, and fill her pouches with several jewels, as well as almost 50 thousand dollars in cash.

"_Oh, boy, this is great. No night watchers, no cops, no fool in a red outfit to ruin my fun... that handsome jerk of Super Hunk really did me a favor," _Savannah thought, while zipping her pouches and walking through the penthouse. The resident, as many others, had gone to the hall to see the debate between the heroes, so Savannah got encouraged enough to try robbing the place, with a huge success.

The criminal walked at the terrace, and looked at the nearby building. She smiled; the buildings were close enough to cover the distance with a good jump, something she had done several times in the past. Savannah took some impulse, and jumped. However, since she was used to "work" at night, she forgot one important detail.

Sunlight hitting her eyes at the middle of the jump.

Savannah got blinded, and lost her sense of direction. When she reacted, the criminal, horrified, noticed that she was missing the rooftop completely, and surely she would had died if she hadn't handled to reach the edge of the rooftop with a hand.

"**YEEAAARGH!" **Savannah yelled in pain. Her arm almost dislocated, and her right side hit the building's wall, hurting her and probably fracturing one rib. Savannah did her best to regain balance, and reach the edge with her other hand, but the impact was so hard she couldn't reach the top because of the pain, and she was feeling how her fingers were losing their grip.

"_No! NO! I CAN'T DIE THIS WAY! NOT IN A SILLY ACCIDENT!" _Savannah was more scared than she had ever been on her life.

"Help! HELP! SOMEBODY! I DON'T CARE IF I GET JAILED, BUT HELP ME!" Savannah screamed, but nobody answered. The same circumstances that made this a good chance for a robbery also made impossible a rescue... unless she did the unthinkable.

"_I'm going to hate myself in the morning... but...if I don't do it, I'll not be here in the morning!" _Savannah thought, and took a deep breath, feeling how her last strength was leaving.

"Oh... and now... who will help MEEEEEE...!" Savannah said right when her fingers couldn't hold her any more, causing her to fall... until a hand grabbed her wrist.

"I!" The ColoRed Chuck said, clenching his teeth while doing an effort to not letting Sneaky fall. He was located on the rooftop, chest down, to support the woman's weight without falling himself.

"The ColoRed Chuck!" Savannah smiled in relief. She never imagined she would be so grateful for seeing him.

"Didn't count... with my... oh, you already know the introduction! Quick, use my body to climb to the... rooftop!" Chuck said, sweating because of the effort.

"I can't... my chest hurts a lot... and I can't use my other arm!" Savannah replied with a pained voice.

"Then try breaking the... window next to you...to get... into the building! Hurry! You're too heavy!" Chuck told her.

"Are you calling me fat?" Savannah replied, offended.

"NOW!" Chuck snapped at her. Savannah nodded, and, despite the pain, she could balance her body to get enough support and break the window with a good kick. She then entered the building, and collapsed on the floor, panting.

A minute later, Chuck was next to her, rubbing his shoulder. Even if Savannah was one of his enemies, he couldn't avoid worrying about her, and, obviously, she needed a lot of help.

"I'm calling an ambulance and a patrol, okay? Now, let's make this easy for the both of us, and don't try to escape." Chuck said while helping her to sit down, leaning her back against the wall.

"Don't worry. If I were strong enough to escape, do you think I would ever summon you?" Savannah said, glaring at him. Chuck shrugged.

"Good point. What are you doing here anyway? I heard you had escaped jail a couple of weeks ago, and you usually stay hidden for at least a month before trying a robbery, especially one as daring as this one. I mean, you never work before midnight." Chuck pointed. Savannah sighed.

"Yes, but, I thought you would be with that Super Hunk guy today, and almost all the cops will be there, as well as many other persons, therefore a good part of the city will remain unprotected, so I decided to try this one. I should have decided to use shades." Savannah said while rubbing her chest and shoulder. Chuck shook his head, and took out his cell phone.

"Next time try robbing a basement... on second thought, don't do that either." Chuck said to her. Savannah chuckled.

"Why do you care anyway? I'm a villain, and nothing would make me happier than watching you beaten and laying unconscious in a sewer. Plus, since tomorrow, you'll stop being welcome in this town." Savannah said, teasing him.

"I had been teased by professionals, Savannah, so stop wasting your breath. Besides, to me, being a hero is not a popularity contest, but doing the right thing, even if that means saving the life of someone who wants me dead. "Chuck replied while dialing 911. Savannah sighed.

"You are crazy." She said while looking down.

"I guess that means _Thank you_ on your language." Chuck shrugged, and then started talking with the 911's operator.

**X-X-X-X**

"Sneaky Savannah? The same Sneaky Savannah that helped kidnap me and Kimi, and who I broke her jaw?" Angelica asked Susie, surprised.

"Yes. She almost died trying to steal a penthouse, and Chuck saved her. I hope she remember that next time she'll try to skin him alive with a whip." Susie replied. She had asked all her contacts to tell her if there was any kind of crime during the event, and, a minute ago, she was informed about Chuck's rescue.

"Thanks for the mental image, Carmichael!" Angelica snapped at her. Susie gulped, realizing her mistake.

"Sorry... but, seriously, maybe now she'll try not getting so serious when they fight. You know Chuck would never punch a female, or hit her with the mallet, so, every time he and Savannah fight, he has to use a clever trick to disarm and trap her, and usually gets a lot of hits on the process." Susie commented. Angelica cooled down, and then looked at her watch.

"Just five more minutes; I hope he can be here on time." Angelica sighed. She knew the rules about using the summoning to call him; the main one was that he had to call her first, so she could be sure he had no emergencies to attend.

**X-X-X-X**

Inside a bar, an extremely large and muscular afro-American man grabbed the bartender by his collar, grinning evilly, while the bar's bouncers were unconscious at his feet.

"Now, let's see if we understand each other. I want half of the profits of your bar, and, in exchange, you'll conserve your head. We have an agreement?" The giant said. The bartender gulped, and nodded in fear.

One of the bouncers recovered conscience, and noticed the scene. He was badly injured, so he couldn't help his boss.

"Oh... and now... who will protect him?" The bouncer said in a pained voice.

"I!" Chuck jumped through the door, landing next to the criminal. He turned and saw him with hateful eyes.

"The ColoRed Chuck." He said calmly.

"Didn't count... **CHANFLE!** Fridge?" Chuck gasped. The criminal, only known by his nickname, was one of the strongest guys Chuck had ever faced and jailed... and, obviously, he wasn't happy for seeing the hero.

"You hadn't forgotten about me, uh?" Fridge said, releasing his prey and cracking his knuckles. Chuck smiled nervously.

"N... no, who would do that? So, how had you been? It's my imagination, or you're bigger than last time?" Chuck said, gulping.

"Well, there's not too much to do in jail but working out, and plotting my revenge against the fool who put me there." Fridge replied, growling.

"Uh... Fridge... how about we finish this conversation outside? If you want, I'll wait you there... just give me ten minutes and..." Chuck was cut by the giant's hand on his shoulder.

"We'll go together." Fridge said, pushing the hero and advancing through the bar. A moment later, they were outside, and the people at the bar could only hear the fight's noises.

**THUD! WHAM! ZOCK! POW! PUNCH!...**

**CRAAAAAASSSSSHHH!**

**X-X-X-X**

"Five thirty." Dil said, looking at his watch. The whole crowd was getting nervous because of The ColoRed Chuck's delay. Only SH and his assistants were calm and happy. Finally, Mayor Courtney decided to let Super Hunk talk to the people. Kimi, who was sitting next to her, looked down, wondering about where his brother might be.

"Good people of Everwood, as you can see, The ColoRed Chuck hadn't arrived. This only can mean something... he is scared of facing me! He no longer cares about his hometown! He should had been here half an hour ago, but thought this wasn't important, so decided to be absent. The ColoRed Chuck had abandoned you, recognizing I'm the best option for your city. Either that, or the CH on his chest stands for _Chicken_." Super Hunk talked to the crowd. Almost everyone roared in excitement, except a small section of the crowd, Chuck's supporters..

"Oh, my... what if something bad happened to him?" Kira said, hugging her husband, who was just as nervous as her. Angelica had an equally concerned expression, and Tommy and Dil were trying to keep her calmed, but they were just as worried.

"That's it. I'm going to take Chuck's place. Someone has to defend him, and I'll do it until he arrives." Tommy said, and started walking through the crowd, directing to the podium. Susie and Harold motioned the other officers to let him pass.

"Well, look at that. The ColoRed Chuck isn't brave enough to come himself, and sent his bodyguard, Okey _Dorkey_ Jones." SH said in a mocking tone when Tommy walked on the podium. Tommy clenched his fists, resisting the urge of hitting SH, and directed to the people.

"Listen, everybody! If The ColoRed Chuck isn't present, is because, unlike Super Hunk, he cares more about his job than about his popularity, so he had been attending emergency calls all this afternoon." Tommy said, but it seemed to have no effect on the people; most of them were booing him and cheering SH.

"What a nice excuse. But we can't prove it, right? I mean, he might be at home eating donuts, and just called you to have someone covering for him. The guy is pathetic." Super Hunk said in his usual "I-am-the-best" tone. Tommy groaned; he had to be careful, or his words might make the situation worse.

"NOBODY IS COVERING FOR ME!" Chuck's voice was heard, and everyone turned to see him advancing through the crowd. Many of them gasped (especially Angelica, Kimi, and his parents) when noticing he was badly bruised and part of his disguise was ripped. Tommy and Kimi helped him climb to the podium.

"What happened to you?" Tommy whispered to him.

"Fridge. I had to hit him with something heavier than my mallet." Chuck whispered back.

"A brick?" Kimi asked.

"No… a truck; he is alive, but I don't think either him or the vehicle will be on the streets for a while." Chuck said while dusting off his disguise.

"Well, just look at yourself. Do you think that's the proper way to attend a public event? You have no respect for all these people." Super Hunk said to Chuck, folding his arms. Chuck advanced a few steps, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Well, sorry, but SOMEONE made the mistake to tell every criminal in town where us would be this afternoon, so they took advantage and tried to do their "job" on the meantime. All the cops who aren't around here had been extra busy all day, and I just stopped three robbers, a cat burglar, and a guy the size of King Kong who wanted to crush me!" Chuck snapped at him. Super Hunk gulped, and backed up a few steps.

"You're lying." SH said, trying to prevent looking like a major moron.

"No, I'm not. All of them are now in jail... well, the cat burglar and the giant are in the hospital, so you can check my stories. And you think I got all this bruises while shaving, or what?" Chuck said, folding his arms. Super Hunk started sweating; being responsible of creating a proper opportunity for the city's crooks wasn't good for his image. Unfortunately for Chuck, SH's assistants reacted.

"Wait, you ONLY fought those petty thieves, and got that injured?" Betty said, pointing at him in a mocking way.

"Please. Super Hunk can handle twice those criminals, and still be on time for his assignments." Brittney added. Super Hunk grinned again, and directed to Chuck.

"They're right, CH. You are supposed to be a hero, someone superior to everyone else. Those inferior criminals are no match for a real superhero; that's enough proof that you're not made for this job. If you really care about this city, you'll allow me to be the official protector." Super Hunk said, causing most of the crowd to cheer him up, and turn against Chuck.

**SUPER HUNK, FOREVER! COLORED CHUCK, GO! COLORED CHUCK, GO! SUPER HUNK, FOREVER! COLORED CHUCK, GO! COLORED CHUCK GO!...**

Those words hurt Chuck even more than Fridge's punches (not exactly on the same place, of course). He looked at the crowd, and noticed his family, as well as a few other persons, cheering up for him, but, sadly, they were severely outnumbered. Chuck sighed, and walked next to the microphone.

"People of Everwood... I had tried to be a hero and a friend to all of you. I admit I'm not perfect. I don't have cool super powers or weapons, but that had never stopped me from doing my job; I would gladly accept Super Hunk getting the spotlight as long as I can keep doing it. However, I had always supported the authorities, and, if my labor goes against the law, I'll agree with your decision, and allow Super Hunk to be the local hero as long as he can fulfill that job. I just want to thank all the great people who still believe in me... however, since SH thinks heroic job is limited to just catch criminals and pose for pictures, I think he'll have no problem allowing me to keep doing my other assistance's labors, like helping people with personal troubles and stuff." Chuck turned to see SH.

"Sure, why not? I'll be too busy to do menial job like taking kittens down from a tree or things like that. However, as long as I can do my heroic job, if you try to catch any criminal, even a guy robbing an apple from a fruit stand, you'll have to reveal your secret ID to make yourself responsible of your actions." Super Hunk said, pointing at Chuck. Chuck nodded.

"Very well then; the job is yours. Just remember, being a hero doesn't make you superior, just different, and you have a duty with all these persons." Chuck said, no hate on his voice, but severe enough to make most people consider his words. Of course, SH wasn't "most people", so he just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, got it. Please, don't give me the "Great powers-Great Responsibility" speech, okay?" SH said, motioning him to leave.

"No. Unlike you, I like having my own phrases." Chuck said before turning his back to SH. Super Hunk made a double take, groaned, and rubbed his temples; that comment really annoyed him. However, he quickly forgot it when the crowd started cheering at him again. Courtney walked behind the mike, and directed to the people, while Chuck left the podium alongside Tommy, who was helping him to walk because of his injuries. Kimi wanted to help too, but she still had to stay to fulfill her duties as Captain, so she only could give Chuck a little kiss on his cheek before moving back behind the mayor.

"You heard it, people. I give you our new and improved hero... SUPER HUNK!" Courtney exclaimed, excited. Super Hunk smiled widely, and he and his assistants posed for the cameras while the crowd clapped at him.

Angelica saw Chuck and Tommy leaving, and felt like crying. She really wanted to comfort him now, but it was impossible in public. She closed her eyes while Susie, Harold, Dil, Kira and Chaz looked at Chuck with sad eyes. Angelica opened her eyes again just in time to see Chuck turning, and smiling at her. Angie smiled back, muttering a silent _See you at home_; she then turned back to see Super Hunk smiling at his audience.

"This isn't over, Super Dork. You're not the only one who can use the media for your own gain." Angelica said under her breath, her brain already planning a way to help Chuckie and kick SH out of town.


	7. Giving Support

**- Giving support.**

Chuckie woke up on his bed, and looked next to him. Angelica wasn't there.

"Curious. Normally I wake up first. Guess this explains why I wasn't hearing any snoring." Chuckie thought out loud, smiling slightly at the last part. Then, he sighed, grabbed his glasses, and looked at himself in the mirror. His bruises were already gone, but he didn't felt as good as usual after healing. It had been almost a week since Super Hunk became the city's official hero, and that still hurt. It also had been exactly three days since the last time he was summoned, and that was by accident, to help a woman carry her groceries to her car. Sure, many of his summonses were done by accident, but it seemed that, subconsciously, people were now avoiding it.

"Guess nobody wants to summon a loser." Chuckie said, looking down. He had received plenty of moral support from Angelica, Kimi, his parents, friends, and all the guys at the UHPS, but he still felt a little sad about the situation. It was the equivalent of a kid not being allowed to play at his own house, but much worse.

"Hey, look who finally woke up." Angelica entered the bedroom, grinning widely. Chuckie's sad expression changed to a slight smile.

"Morning, Angie. I'll make breakfast in a moment." Chuckie said, giving her a little kiss, and turning to take out his pajamas. Angelica shook her head, and motioned him to sit down on their bed.

"You can do it later. Now, there's something you must see." Angelica said, excited. Chuckie arched an eyebrow.

"You know, every time I see you with that kind of smile, it makes me nervous." Chuckie commented. Angelica's grin grew.

"Good. Seeing you nervous make me smile." Angelica joked, making Chuckie to roll his eyes. Angelica grabbed the remote control from a nearby shelf, and turned on the bedroom's TV while she and Chuckie sat on the bed, holding hands.

"Let's see the news... but not the local ones." Angelica said while changing the channel. A moment later, a curly red-haired woman appeared on screen.

"Good morning. This is Ginger Foutley with the news. Our opening note follows one of the most controversial decisions taken by a local mayor; banishment of all superheroes from a city to make space to a particular one. Since Super Hunk was declared Everwood's official hero, the city's crime rate had notably decreased. On the last days, Super Hunk had participated in five arrests, all of them, according to the local press, highly dangerous criminals." Ginger said on screen.

"Sounds a lot like the local news," Chuckie commented. Angelica hushed him, and motioned her husband to pay attention.

"However, further investigations done by this network had revealed that, even if they're criminals, none of them is nearly half as wanted as it had been said. According with this investigation, it had been discovered this is a regular tendency in most of Super Hunk's arrests, so, either the government or the journalists are trying to improve his image, or SH himself is asking them to do it." Ginger pointed. Chuckie made a double take, and turned to see Angie, who replied widening her grin even more. Chuckie smiled, and turned back to the TV.

"In a related note, one day after The ColoRed Chuck was officially banished from any superheroic activity within Everwood's city limits, a website was opened, asking for the people's support to help him back. This site, until yesterday, had already reached more than 100,000 hits and counting. At the same time, many people who had been aided by The ColoRed Chuck in the past had started writing letters and even presenting themselves at their local TV stations to protest. We have these images from Hillwood, a city The ColoRed Chuck had visited on a regular basis, despite having its own superhero, Monkeyman." Ginger said. A moment later, the screen showed a blond woman, around Angelica's age, tall and thin but still pretty (a lot like a ballet dancer), with a thin unibrow, wearing a pink sweater. The screen showed her name; Helga G. Pataki, local resident and well-known writer.

"When I heard about what happened to The ColoRed Chuck, I was like _Crimmney! Are those people insane, or what?_ I know, that's not exactly the way you expect a writer to express herself, but it's true. That guy had saved dozens… maybe hundreds of lives, and now his own people are changing him for a new model. I understand they want Super Hunk to protect the city, but there's nothing wrong with having more than one hero. I would feel a lot safer having not one, but three heroes (if you count Okey Dokey Jones as well) to keep an eye on crime and support the police. Maybe I am a little partial about this because The ColoRed Chuck had saved some of my friends in the past... man, he saved my fiancé from a wild animal the same day Super Hunk appeared at Everwood! I was rescued by him once as well! And that proves my point; The ColoRed Chuck is a hero, and a very competent one, so turning our backs to him is unfair, ungrateful, and indecent, plain and simple." Helga concluded, and the screen changed to show Ginger again.

"Miss Pataki's opinion seems to be shared by many others, who hope their voices to be heard, and The ColoRed Chuck can go back to business on his own city. Personally, I support this idea. ColoRed Chuck, if you're watching this program, I hope you realize that everything you have done in the past hadn't been forgotten... including how you caught the guy who almost killed my brother. Thank you." Ginger concluded, smiling slightly at the camera. Chuckie smile grew as well, and turned again to see Angelica, while Ginger proceded with the rest of the news.

"Angie... the website... it was your idea, right?" Chuckie asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course it was. Super Hunk used the media to gain people's support, so, since I'm a genius, I thought that would help you as well. Besides creating the site, I had talked with many of Merge Corp's contacts in the whole media environment, and both Susie and Kimi are sharing information about you with them to help with the research. Hadn't told you before because I wanted to see the results first. I must say, it had been amazing to read what some of the people who visit the site had written about you. I knew you have done some great things, but is great to read them from the people's POV." Angelica explained. Chuckie hugged her tightly, and Angelica returned the embrace.

"Thanks." Chuckie whispered on her ear.

"For better or worse, until death do us part, remember? Someone has to take care of you, Finster." Angelica replied, and then they kissed tenderly for a few minutes.

"I guess I earned myself a special breakfast, don't you think?" Angelica said to him after breaking the embrace. Chuckie chuckled.

"I know. French toast and eggs, sunny side up, coming up," Chuckie said to her, and after kissing Angie on her cheek, walked out of the bedroom with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"And you earned yourself every bit of support I can get, Chuckie." Angelica, smiling, said in a low tone, looking at the door.

**X-X-X-X**

"There's something new on today's paper, Betty?" Super Hunk asked his brunette assistant, who was the one in charge of reading him the newspaper, while Brittney was giving him his weekly manicure.

"Let's see... it describes the two arrests you made yesterday... the meeting with the major... some publicity for your new action figure... uh, oh!" Betty gasped when looking at a particular note.

"Betty, you know I don't like that '_Uh, oh!'_ expression. What's going on?" SH said, arching an eyebrow.

"Remember the last poll concerning you replacing The ColoRed Chuck?" Betty asked, gulping.

"Yeah. Eighty five percent of the people supported me." SH said on his smooth tone.

"Well... now you're only supported by the seventy percent." Betty said, making him to gasp.

"You... you have to be kidding! Come on, Betty, you know that kind of surprises can give a man premature wrinkles!" SH said, worried.

"But it's true. And, besides that, it seems that the guy in red is getting a lot of support around the country. One man even said, and I quote... _Super Hunk is nothing but a glorified bully, and those are the worst kind!_" Betty replied.

Super Hunk was speechless. The news shocked him so much, he started gasping for air. Brittney and Betty noticed this, and tried to make him react.

"Relax, relax, Nick. I'm sure this is just a temporary thing!" Betty said.

"She is right! Come on, you think that idiot with antennas can even dream about replacing the perfect human being?" Brittney said to Nick, calming him down a little.

"Yes. You are so handsome, so strong, so marvelous... a little note like that one is nothing for someone with your greatness." Betty purred at his ear. Nick smiled widely, and stood up, adopting his usual heroic posture.

"You are right, my gorgeous babes. The ColoRed Chuck is yesterday's news. I'm the present, the future, and the best that had ever happened to this country since the hair gel was invented. Who cares if he has some fans? Even Snoopy has fans, and I'm not worried about that dog. Let's ignore today's paper, and enjoy ourselves." He concluded, while the girls kissed his cheeks.

**X-X-X-X**

"Are you feeling better today, son?" Chaz asked Chuckie, who was washing some dishes and mugs at the Java Lava's back store. Dil was with them, drinking a fruit smoothie. There were no more customers, because it was still very early in the morning, and usually most of the potential clients arrived after noon.

"Yep. Angelica did something that made me really happy." Chuckie replied with a huge grin.

"Hey, keep that for yourself, okay, pal? She might be your wife, but she also is my cousin, after all." Dil said, getting a nauseating expression. Chuck blushed.

"No, she didn't do that... okay, she did it too, and made me happy as well, but I'm talking about the website. I entered today, and almost fainted. I can't believe so many persons are supporting The ColoRed Chuck." Chuckie replied; it was a little weird referring to himself in third person, but needed to do it to keep his two identities separated.

"I said it once, and I'll say it a million more, son. No matter how much I worry everytime you use that disguise, it makes me really proud knowing you are helping so many people on a regular basis." Chaz said, placing a hand on Chuckie's shoulder.

"If you are getting so much support as The ColoRed Chuck, just imagine how much you would receive if you had chosen the Skunk Man's ID." Dil commented.

"Maybe from the deodorants' industries, Dil, but I doubt about everyone else." Chuck said, rolling his eyes. Chaz smiled, and turned to prepare a coffee for himself.

"You know, Chuckie, maybe, if Angie's campaign works, you'll start being summoned again. I'm almost sure you'll be requested in no time." Chaz said while turning back to see Chuckie... and saw nobody but Dil.

"Mister Finster, have you considered buying a lottery ticket lately?" Dil said, wide opening his eyes.

**X-X-X-X**

"Finally, I, the great Doctor Drakken, evil genius extraordinaire, will accomplish my greatest goal... world domination!" A blue skinned man with a large scar under his left eye, wearing a blue uniform and black gloves and boots, laughed evilly. He was in the classic Bond-villain hideout; a cave with lots of computers, and henchmen in red outfits (hood included) completed with black shades, doing several things while he talked.

"We already know your lines, Drakken. Why you have to repeat them every time?" A red haired young woman, wearing a black commando sweater and gloves, and military-like pants, with her limbs caught by special shackles, hanging from a nearby wall, said to the crazed scientist. Next to her, wearing a similar outfit and in the same circumstances, was a blond guy around the same age and, next to him, a little cell with a naked mole-rat trapped inside.

"Yes, you're right, KP. The first hundred times were amusing, but, after that, it gets older than that stew my mother still keeps on the fridge. I swear that thing is developing a mind of its own." The blonde said.

"Shut up, you, Kim Possible, and you... buffoon I never remember the name! In just a few minutes, my satellite will be on its right position, and I'll use it to control..." Drakken was cut by Kim.

"... every defense system in the world." Kim said, arching her eyebrows. Drakken groaned in frustration.

"Why you always have to do that? Never mind! Even you can't escape from those special electronic shackles! Now, back to business," Drakken turned to pay attention to his many monitors and direct his henchmen.

"Kim, can you use any of your tools?" The blonde asked her, in a low voice. Kim shook her head.

"No, Ron. They made a good job this time. I still have some stuff with me, but the shackles give me zero mobility. How about you?" Kim whispered back.

"Same here. And Rufus is caught as well, so we can't count with him to release us or pass you any of your gadgets. Maybe we should ask for help." Ron commented.

"Ron, Drakken got my Kimmunicator and our cell phones. We can't call Wade or anyone else, even if we could move." Kim pointed.

"But we can talk, KP. And that's all we need to call you-know-who." Ron replied. Kim gave him a weird look.

"You can't be serious." Kim said. Ron got a stern look.

"Kim, look at the serious face. I'm no kidding here." Ron said in a very serious tone. Kim shook her head.

"He already has a lot of problems, Ron. I don't want to bother him for nothing." Kim told him.

"Drakken is about to, finally, take over the world. We can't move. My nose is itching and I can't scratch it. I wouldn't say that's nothing." Ron insisted. Kim sighed; she liked to solve her missions by herself, with no help besides Ron, Rufus, and Wade, but Ron was right about their situation.

"Okay, Ron. And, since this is your idea, you can summon him." Kim said with a slight smile. Ron grinned, and cleared his throat.

"Oh, and now, who will rescue us?" Ron said out loud. Drakken heard him, and turned, grinning evilly.

"Nobody, buffoon, because..." He was cut by a nearby noise. He and his henchmen turned to see one door, the brooms' closet, where the noise came from.

"I!" The ColoRed Chuck emerged from the room, with his left foot inside a bucket.

"ANOTHER BUFFOON!" Drakken yelled in surprise. Chuck arched an eyebrow.

"Buffoon? I'm The ColoRed Chuck! I thought everyone knew my name!" Chuck replied, confused, while taking his foot out from the bucket.

"Don't feel offended, man. He still can't remember my name, and we fight almost twice a month." Ron said. Chuck turned, noticing Kim and Ron.

"Hey, KP, Ron! What's up?" Chuck said in a friendly tone.

"Us." Kim and Ron replied, doing reference to their current situation.

"Oh, I see. And the guy in blue would be...?" Chuck said, pointing to Drakken.

"I'm Doctor Drakken, and you are..." Drakken was cut by Chuck.

"... in a secret lair from where you are planning to conquer the world with an extremely complicated plan that already cost you millions of dollars you could had better used to invest and make an honest fortune?" Chuck concluded the criminal's phrase, making his jaw to fell, and Kim, Ron, and Rufus (and even a few henchmen) to laugh, despite their situation.

"AAAARRRGGGH! Why nobody allows me to end my explanations?" Drakken growled.

"It's just that you're pretty obvious. I mean, this place yells "Evil Guy's Lair" all the way. It doesn't look exactly as Willy Wonka's factory... and you're way too ugly to pass as an Umpa-Loompa." Chuck commented. Drakken now was fuming.

"Hey, KP, look! I never imagined Drakken could make his face purple." Ron pointed to his girlfriend/leader. Kim chuckled at the scene while Drakken, furious, took a communicator out from his pocket.

"That's it! Let's see if your red suit can fight a green one! **SHEGO! We have an intruder!**" Drakken yelled at his communicator, contacting his most dangerous ally.

"Shego?" Chuckie made a double take. A moment later, an automatic door the other side of the room opened, and a female entered doing a series of cartwheels. She landed next to The ColoRed Chuck; the woman had long dark hair, pale green skin, and was using a black and green ninja-like outfit minus the mask. Despite her skin's color, and the evil grin she had, she was as attractive as Kim.

"I'll handle him, Doctor D." Shego said, adopting a fighting stance while her fists got a green glow around them. However, instead of being scared, or surprised, Chuck simply smiled and waved hello to her.

"Hey, Shego, long time without seeing you," Chuck said in a very friendly tone. Shego wide opened her eyes, and got a surprised expression, while her fists relaxed and stopped glowing.

"Chuck?" Shego said, stunned. A moment later, she smiled, not evilly, but in a pleasant way, and hugged Chuck, who returned the embrace.

"You little fool! What a surprise!" Shego said, excited, making everyone else in the room to look at them in shock.

"Uh... excuse me... can you two guys...?" Kim was cut by Chuck, who broke the embrace and turned to see her.

"... give an explanation?" Chuck said.

"Please and thank you." Kim replied her usual way.

"Ah, is not so complicated, Princess. Red and I used to date some time ago." Shego replied, with her hands on her hips, while Chuck nodded.

"You two... UGH! Evil image! Evil image!" Ron shook his head.

"But you are a villainess, Shego, and he... well, I don't know him, but seems to be some kind of hero!" Drakken said, partially recovering from his initial shock.

"Yes, but Shego here used to be a heroin many years ago, don't you know? I met her when I was just starting in this business, and we dated a few times." Chuck said while pointing at her.

"And you still keep using the same ridiculous outfit. On the other hand, red really is your color." Shego commented.

"Thanks. You look as great as usual, Sheegs." Chuck said, slightly blushing.

"Don't call me like that!" Shego frowned, but returned to smile in a moment. "So, had you kept practicing those fighting moves I taught you?"

"Yes, but you know me. I had improved a lot, but you'll never confuse me with a ninja." Chuck replied.

"You tell me. I always could beat you on our sparring sessions... of course you made it too easy because you never tried punching me, not even once." Shego pointed.

"Uh... Chuck?" Kim tried to get the hero's attention.

"Well, I'm a very old-fashioned guy, despite my dressing style. I even have a couple of females in my rogues' gallery, but I never had punched or hit them with the mallet... of course, I once made one of them fall on her butt by yanking the rug she was standing on." Chuck said, laughing lightly.

"Oh, you still have that nice silly smile! So, tell me, Casanova, are you still single?" Shego smirked.

"Hello. Hostages here." Ron raised his voice.

"Well, I can't say too much because of the whole Secret ID's stuff, you know... but I can tell you I found this wonderful girl some time ago and, oh, boy..." Chuck blushed again and grinned widely.

"Say no more. That dopey face means love anywhere. Kind of silly, but nice; it suits you." Shego replied, shaking her head while keeping her smirk.

"Shego..." Drakken, more than slightly annoyed, directed to her, but she kept ignoring her boss.

"Changing the subject, Green, why are you still on the bad guys' side? You were a wonderful heroin! I learned more than a couple of useful things from you." Chuck said, folding his arms.

"It pays the bills. Plus, well, I might have a nice conversation with you, but, with the rest of the people, I'm always like PMS or something like that. Not exactly a heroic role model." Shego shrugged.

"**GUYS!" **Kim, Ron, and Drakken chorused, making Chuck and Shego to finally pay them attention.

"Hey, we're having a conversation here, Doc. You know how much I had missed some intelligent talking?" Shego frowned at Drakken.

"I always talk to you!" The scientist said.

"She said _Intelligent Talking_, remember?" Ron, Chuck, and Kim said at the same time.

"Ha! You two guys owe me a soda." Kim directed to Ron and Chuck. Drakken glared at Chuck and Shego.

"Whatever. Can you two please follow the program..." Drakken was cut by Shego.

"... and act professionally like heroes and villains are supposed to do it?" Shego concluded the phrase. Drakken clenched his teeth.

"Et tu, Shego? Look, I don't care if he used to be your boyfriend... " Drakken was cut again by Shego.

"Why when a girl have a few dates with one guy everybody assumes he's her boyfriend?" Shego commented.

"Beats me; I dated this girl I'm talking about like, three times before asking her to be official." Chuck added. Drakken growled and directed to Shego again.

"Whatever! You're on my service now, and I want him done, understood?" Drakken snapped at her. Shego and Chuck looked at each other and shrugged.

"Oh well, the blue guy is, for once, right. Nothing personal, Chuck, but I have to do my job." Shego said in a calm tone while cracking her knuckles and doing stretching exercises in front of Chuck. He started doing the same.

"Yes, I know. But can we do it the special way we used to?" Chuck asked. Shego arched an eyebrow.

"In public? I have a reputation, you know." Shego replied.

"Green, pleeeeease? For old times' sake?" Chuck said in his kindest tone. Shego rolled her eyes.

"Can't believe I'm going to do it… okay, let's finish this." Shego said while clenching her fists. Chuck did the same, and they stood in front of each other, in boxing positions.

"Oh, this is gonna be interesting." Drakken grinned evilly.

Shego and Chuck drew back a fist and started counting at the same time.

"One... two... three!" They said while quickly moving one fist in front of the other's; Shego extended her middle fingers, while Chuck kept his fist unchanged.

"Rock! I win!" Chuck exclaimed. Shego slapped her forehead.

"Why I always have to do scissors?" Shego exclaimed. Everyone at the room got surprised looks. After a moment, Kim and Ron started laughing, and Drakken yelled, annoyed.

"That's it! Shego, if you're not going to fight him, then step aside so the henchmen can do it!" Drakken exclaimed. Shego shrugged, and started walking away from Chuck.

"Hey, if you survive, give me your e-mail address, okay?" Shego said to Chuck.

"Sure. I'll send it with Kim." Chuck commented.

"Now, henchmen, stop whatever you are doing, and GET HIM!" Drakken ordered. Then, all the henchmen obeyed, and surrounded Chuck. The hero gulped.

"Okay... what about we do it one on one? I promise I'll fight all of you." Chuck offered. The henchmen looked at each other, and then all jumped over him. Chuck disappeared under the compact mass of hitting and yelling men.

"Ouch. No. Stop. That hurts. Ouch." Chuck voice was heard, making Kim, Ron, and Rufus to gasp. Drakken laughed at the scene, while Shego, who was standing next to the doctor, just rolled her eyes.

"I saw this one a mile away." Shego commented.

"My henchmen kicking your ex's butt?" Drakken asked with a smug look.

"Nope; the henchmen fighting each other while The ColoRed Chuck crawls out of that stupid mass and starts messing with the controls." Shego said, pointing at one of the control panels, where Chuck was pressing all the buttons, ruining the satellite's control system. As Shego said, Chuckie had ducked the moment the henchmen attacked him, and crawled away from them; since they were all using red outfits, just like him, nobody noticed this, and they kept hitting each other.

"Maybe you should have given them purple outfits, Doc." Ron commented to a shocked Drakken. At that moment, Chuck, coincidentally, found the button that opened Kim and Ron's shackles as well as Rufus' cage.

"That's exactly what I had planned." Chuck said in his heroic expert-like tone.

"Oh, please, somebody get them! All of them!" Drakken ordered. The henchmen stopped fighting each other, realizing their mistake, and half of them charged against Chuck while the others went against Kim and Ron.

"The usual arrangement?" Ron asked Kim while picking up Rufus.

"Yep. You go help Chuck with the henchmen, and I'll handle Shego." Kim replied. A moment later, she made a summersault, jumping over two henchmen and kicking them when landing, to move next to Shego. The villainess grinned, and her hands started glowing again.

"Let's dance, Princess." Shego said while trying to karate-chop Kim, who avoided the attack and replied with a punch Shego barely avoided herself. Shego tried to kick Kim, but she dodged the attack and then kicked Shego's legs, making her to fall on her back. However, thanks to her agility, the green-skinned woman bounced back on his feet in a second and almost burned Kim's face with her glowing right hand. Kim had to move a few steps back to avoid a series of karate-chops, and, when having enough space, tried to give Shego a high kick. The villainess ducked to avoid the kick, and rolled on the floor to get some distance to attack again, but Kim bounced on a nearby wall, allowing her to do a diving kick against Shego. She could block the kick, but it was so strong it hurt her arms. Shego growled, and attacked Kim with a series of high kicks; one of them connected, sending Kim to the floor. Shego then tried to pin her, but the red-haired rolled to escape and stand up again. The females paused for a moment, glaring to each other... and then grinned widely before fighting again. Even if they were enemies, both Kim and Shego had to admit they really enjoyed their battles, since they were pretty competitive, and one matched the other perfectly.

While KP and Shego fought, Ron was doing his best blocking attacks from the henchmen and replying with some well placed kicks and karate-chops. Despite not being as agile or skilled as Kim, Ron had a lot of experience from their missions, plus knowing plenty of kung fu's moves (monkey style), so he could handle regular criminals without help. On the other side of the room, Chuck took out his mallet, and gave some well placed hits to all the enemies trying to get him. Even if he and Ron were doing a good job, Chuck knew they were severely outnumbered, so started thinking about a plan to end the fight as fast as possible. He jumped over one of Drakken's massive computers, and, from there, could spot a lever switch located just a few feet away from Ron.

"Hey, Ron, the switch!" Chuck yelled to the blonde while pointing to the switch. Ron turned to see in that direction, and understood Chuck's idea. He kicked another henchmen, and then quickly took Rufus out from his pocket, showing him the lever.

"Okay, Rufus, you heard the guy with antennas. Do your job, buddy!" Ron told the rodent. Rufus nodded, and then Ron threw him against the switch. Rufus made an acrobat-like movement, and landed safely on the lever; his weight did the rest, and, a moment later, the lights went off. The only thing visible was the glowing from Shego's hands, moving quickly because of her battle with Kim.

"Booyah!" Ron excited voice was heard, alongside plenty of yelling and hitting sounds. Drakken, despite the darkness, kept barking orders.

"Get them, you fools! Keep fighting... ouch! My foot! Somebody turn on the lights! SHEGO!" Drakken yelled in frustration.

"I have... UFF!... my own problems... _–groan-..._ here!" Shego replied while fighting Kim. The females knew each other's moves so well, they would surely be able to fight even sleepwalking.

Drakken groaned, and started walking through the room, trying to find the switch, while the battle continued.

WHACK! CLANG! CRASH! OUCH! THUD! PUNCH! WHAM! ZAS! CRACK! BIFF! POW! ZOWIE! CRUNCH! JAB! KICK! PUNT!...

"Step aside... move on... evil genius walking... OUCH! I don't know who hit me, but if it was one of my henchmen, he's not getting Christmas bonus this year!... there... ARGH! Who placed a chair here? Can't believe it... I'm a genius, and didn't think about carrying a light!... Yuck! I don't know what I stepped on, but I swear it was moving! Okay, I think the switch is... HERE!" Drakken exclaimed in triumph, and turned on the lights, grinning.

"Now, get those fools, and finish... them..." Drakken got a shocked expression. His lair was almost completely destroyed, and all the henchmen were on the floor, unconscious. Kim and Shego paused their fight to see the scene.

"Wow. Looks like Bonnie's house after her graduation party." Kim commented. The red-haired female noticed Ron was sitting on the floor next to Drakken, sharing with Rufus some potato chips he was carrying on his pants, while Chuck was sitting on the floor the other side of the room, playing a calm tune with a harmonica.

"How did you know that was the light's switch?" Drakken yelled at Chuck.

"Suspected that from the beginning." Chuck replied, and then returned to playing his harmonica.

"What did you two buffoons did to my place?" Drakken snapped at Ron.

"We didn't do a thing. We just sat down to rest, right Chuck?" Ron directed to Chuck, who stopped playing and nodded.

"Yep. We just sat here and enjoyed hearing your boys fighting each other." Chuck commented.

"But... you didn't get hit? Not even once?" Drakken said, surprised.

"Nope. I might not be very good with math, but, well, the possibilities of a henchman hitting another one in the darkness were way bigger than them hitting us, especially since we kept ourselves on the floor all the time." Ron said while scratching Rufus' head with his right index.

"Didn't count with our cleverness." Chuck said, standing up and giving Ron the thumbs up. Drakken's jaw fell, and directed to Shego.

"What are you waiting? Let's get out of here!" Drakken told her while trying to run, but he tripped with one of the fallen henchmen, landing on his chest. When the criminal lifted his head, he saw The ColoRed Chuck standing in front of him, holding his mallet.

"Sorry, but you're not leaving. And I guess both Kim and Ron aren't allowing Shego to go as well." Chuck pointed. A few feet away, Ron was back on his feet and placed behind Shego, while Kim got back to her fighting stance.

"Two against one? I thought I was the dirty fighter here." Shego frowned at Kim.

"I know, not very sportive, but, hey, as you said, this is nothing personal, just business. We can have a rematch another day." Kim smirked. Shego rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But next time no light tricks." Shego said, turning off her power and sitting on the floor, waiting for the authorities.

A few minutes and a fast call to Global Justice (the special law-enforcement agency Kim usually worked with) later, Drakken's lair was filled up with special agents ready to take all the criminals to prison. Shego was restrained with special handcuffs to contain her power and transport her safely. She walked away with three agents escorting her, and passed next to Chuck, who was standing with KP and Ron next to the exit door.

"So long, Shego. Try to behave, okay?" Chuck waved her goodbye.

"Can't promise anything. Take care, ColoRed Chuck, and don't be offended, but if you help Princess again, next time I'll not play." Shego replied with a playful smirk. A moment later, Drakken, also escorted by agents, but using regular handcuffs, passed next to the heroes.

"You'll pay for this, Kim Possible... you, and that rodent, and the buffoon, and... and... you, the other buffoon!" Drakken yelled in rage.

"Hey, cool down. Remember the old and known proverb; Revenge is never good..." Chuck was cut by Kim.

"... kills the soul and poisons it." Kim ended the proverb. Chuck and Drakken turned to see her.

"Well, at least she doesn't do that just with me." Drakken sighed while walking away. Chuck rolled his eyes.

"Sorry for ending the proverb, but, no offense intended, you always mess them." Kim told Chuck, who just shrugged.

"No problem here, KP. I'm happy for being able to help you two... and for being summoned again." Chuck commented, a little hint of sadness on his voice at the last part. Kim placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Chuck, you know you can count with us. If you want, I can use my website to try getting more support for you." Kim said to her colleague.

"Yeah, I mean, we use it to help people, so why not using it to help one of our friends?" Ron added. Chuck smiled at them.

"Hey, thanks, guys. It means the world to me." Chuck commented.

"Changing the topic... you-know-who knows you used to date a villainess?" Ron asked Chuck, his curiosity bugging him to the max. Kim rolled her eyes, and Chuck chuckled slightly.

"Hey, she was a heroin back then, and we never were a steady couple, just dated a few times. And yes, my other half knows about it. I mean, she used to date a gangster without knowing he was a criminal, so me dating a heroin that later turned into one of my friends' worst enemies isn't as crazy as it sounds. Besides, as you could see, Shego still respects me; I mean, she knows my secret ID, and hadn't told a soul about it." Chuck replied, being careful to not mention Angie's name in front of the Global Justice's agents.

"And you're going to mention her you met Shego again, and you two hugged?" Kim said, arching an eyebrow. Chuck shrugged.

"Maybe. I mean, not all the failed couples have harsh break-ups. My significant other still has contact with a couple of her former boyfriends from high school, and actually I had met them; nice guys, both of them married. And, for us being jealous of each other's old flames, well, as the old and known proverb says. What wasn't in your year..." Chuck was cut by Kim.

"... wasn't for your damage." Kim ended the proverb.

"There's any possibility of you becoming my partner? That way maybe I'll be able to use the proverbs correctly." Chuck joked.

"Sorry, she is taken." Ron said while placing an arm around Kim's shoulders and kissing her on the cheek. Kim blushed slightly, and replied with a kiss of her own.

"Don't blame me for trying. Oh, and Kim, I forgot my cell phone and my UHPS communicator. Can you please...?" Chuck was cut again.

"... ask Wade to call your home to be summoned back?" Kim said while taking out her Kimmunicator.

"Please and thank you." Chuck replied, glad for being useful again.

**X-X-X-X**

That night, in Everwood Prison, and, more precisely, the high security ward, a thin man paced back and forth on his cell. His cellmate, a slightly older immate, resting on his bunk, lost his patience.

"Can you please stop walking, Bumble Man? The normal people want to sleep!" The older guy said, annoyed.

"Can't help it, Jean Claude! _Buzz!_ Hadn't read the papers, or heard the gossip, _buzz_? That stupid Super Hunk keeps insulting me, saying I'm nothing without my bee's suit! _Buzz!_" Bumble Man replied to the pirate.

"Hey, he insulted me and my former boss as well, and I hate him for that, but we're not solving anything just pacing on our cells! Sure, that doesn't mean he annoys me less than he does with you; I would love throwing him to the sea, chained to a couple of anchors." Jean Claude said. The guys on the next cell, Timothy "Tim Thug" McNulty and Sean "Kill-A-Lot Kid" Butler overheard them, and joined the conversation.

"I agree with you, sailor. I really want to empty my gun on that idiot's mouth. I had never faced him, but I already hate the jerk almost as much as I hate the red fool." The Kid said, angry.

"I know what you mean. At least The ColoRed Chuck has some respect for us... maybe even a little fear, but Super Hunk keeps insulting us as if we were nothing but bugs." Tim commented.

"What do you have against bugs? _Buzz!_" Bumble Man snapped at the gangster.

"Calm down, you two. Instead of arguing, we should be planning a way to escape and show that Super Dork some respect... right before sending him to the closest graveyard." Kill-A-Lot commented.

"And, how? He has super strength, and maybe other powers. The only one of us who is close to having those advantages is Bumble Man, and that's only when he uses his suit." Jean Claude said. Bumble Man wanted to reply, but even he had to recognize he wasn't so powerful without his disguise and gadgets. The four criminals knew they would need something special to fight Super Hunk; they were more than suited to fight the cops, or The ColoRed Chuck, but not a powerhouse..

At that moment, a little dart flew through Sean and Tim's cell's window, hitting one of the bars. The criminals, surprised, grabbed it; the dart contained four small pills, and a little paper roll.

"What's going on?" Jean Claude asked, noticing the other villains' sudden silence.

"We got a message in a dart. Who sent it?" The Kid asked Tim, who was the one reading the paper. The gangster got an evil grin, and directed to his partners.

"Guys, get ready for some morning jogging, because, tomorrow, we'll be out of this cage... and Super Hunk will see what a real villain can do."


	8. Who Let The Crooks Out?

**- Who let the crooks out?**

"What time is it, _buzz_?" Bumble Man asked Jean Claude, excited.

"Why you keep asking me that, if you know I have no watch, you fool?" The pirate replied, annoyed.

"Relax, you guys; we'll be out of here exactly at sunrise." Tim told his partners, looking at the window. He was as eager to escape as the other criminals, but trusted the person who sent him the message to do his job.

"Can we take the pills now?" The Kid asked his cellmate. Tim shook his head.

"No. According to the note, the pills' effect lasts only for a few minutes. We have to take them at the right moment." Tim explained.

Outside, the sun appeared at the horizon. On one of the prison's watchtowers, a couple of guards drank the last drops of coffee from their mugs.

"Good thing our shift almost finished. It's my imagination, or the coffee no longer keeps me as alert as it used to?" One of the guards asked to himself.

"Well, at least we had a quiet night. Of course, what criminal would risk escaping knowing Super Hunk will surely capture him in a couple of hours?" The other guard replied, making his partner to chuckle.

"Yeah. Only an idiot would try escaping this place." The first guard commented.

"Wanna bet?" The guards turned when hearing a voice behind them. Before they could react, the watchtower was filled up with a green gas, and, a couple of seconds later, they were on the floor, on fetal position, totally pale and talking nonsense.

"Now, three more watchtowers, and then, to the ventilation system," A dark figure said to himself, in a sinister tone.

A couple of minutes later, the same green gas poured from the prison's every air vent, causing similar panic-like effects on everyone inhaling it. Tim noticed when the gas appeared at his cell, and knew the time had come.

"Now, take the pills, quick!" Tim instructed his partners. They all did it, and, as expected, the drug protected them from the gas' effects. Now, they only had to wait. About ten minutes later, the sinister figure approached their cells.

"Hello; are you ready to leave this dumpster?" The big-nosed man, wearing a totally black outfit and carrying a backpack, told the criminals while showing them the cell's keys.

"Any time you want, Shark." Tim grinned at the view of his friend, the master spy only known as The Shark. Since he was a spy, he was imprisoned in a special jail where he couldn't have contact with anyone to spill all the secrets he knew.

"How did you escape from your jail, man?" The Kid asked Shark while he opened the cells.

"Well, I'm not the only spy our government had on that prison I was. One of them handled to get out of his cell, and opened ours to distract the guards. Most of the spies were recaptured, but I could escape." The Shark explained.

"And what kind of gas you used?" Jean Claude asked.

"Some time ago I stole some data from Gotham City Police Department concerning the weaponry used by those insane criminals they have in that place, and handled to duplicate this one, The Fear Toxin, as well as the antidote, the pills I sent to you. Actually, I could prepare enough of the substance to fill these special guns." The Shark explained while handling some guns to the other criminals, all of them filled with the toxin.

"Sweet. Now, what's the plan?" Tim asked while checking his gun.

"Simple. We'll get out of here, and use this to keep the cops busy." The Shark said while taking out a couple of white colored guns. "I couldn't prepare many pills, but these guns are filled up with the antidote, and I have a few more charges to refill them. We can use it to eliminate the effects from the other prisoners. Once we leave, we'll keep the gates closed so they have to fight their way out of here, and, since all the guards are too scared to even move, well..." The spy and his partners got a devious smile.

"I get it. Most of the cops will come to stop the riot." Jean-Claude commented.

"And, since they already had a bad experience leaving the city unprotected, the local hero will surely stay in town instead of coming here." The Kid added, rubbing his chin.

"And then, we kick Super Hunk's butt, _buzz_!" Bumble Man concluded, excited.

"That's right. And, besides this toxin, I already have regular guns waiting for us, as well as outfits for all of you, including a certain bee suit and battle equipment I could recover from the warehouse Bumble Man keeps his stuff," The Shark informed them.

"How did you know where I keep my spare costume, _buzz_?" Bumble Man asked, surprised.

"I know things. It's almost scary, isn't it?" The Shark replied with his trademark predatory grin.

"Hey, you're right. That's scary." The Kid admitted while The Shark started spraying all the other criminals with the antidote.

**X-X-X-X**

An hour later, at Chuckie and Angie's home, the phone rang. Chuckie, who was already up, answered it.

"Hello? Yes, but she is... Oh, okay, wait a minute." Chuckie nodded and then went to the bedroom where Angelica was still sleeping. Chuckie hated to wake her up so early, but this was an important call, so decided to do it as gently as possible.

"Angie? Wake up, Angel. You have a call." Chuck whispered on her ear. Angelica half-opened her eyes and yawned.

"Tell him or her to call back in an hour." Angelica replied, not wanting to interrupt her rest.

"It's your secretary. She said you asked her to call you about an important meeting, no matter the time." Chuckie insisted. This time Angelica wide opened her eyes, and shook her head to fully wake up.

"Oh! I'll answer here. Thanks, Finster." Angelica replied, and, after giving Chuckie a fast kiss, she grabbed the bedroom's phone. Chuck exited and hung off the living room's phone; he never messed with Angelica's job unless she asked him to help her.

A few minutes later, Angelica shouted from the bedroom.

"Hey, Chuckie, I have to go attend some very important stuff! I'm getting a quick shower and dress; please, prepare me..."

"A chicken and cheese sandwich with pickles and ketchup so you can eat something on your way to the office?" Chuckie finished the phrase.

"And some coffee, thank you," Angelica replied. Chuckie went to the kitchen to prepare Angie's breakfast to-go, wondering about who might ask for a meeting so early on Saturday.

**X-X-X-X**

Mayor Gripling, like Angelica, wasn't a morning person. Unless she had to attend something, she liked to oversleep every day she could, and always told her employees to respect that. So, when she was waken up by some noise coming from outside her bedroom, the blonde obviously wasn't happy.

"Oh, please! How can I conserve my lovable looks so the people can have a gorgeous mayor if my beauty sleep is interrupted?" Courtney said, upset. She quickly put her white robe over her pink pajamas, and moved to the door to see why her house was so noisy that morning.

Courtney opened the door, and gasped at the sight of Kill-A-Lot Kid, on his regular black cowboy outfit, aiming at her with his pistols.

"Morning, ma'am. Sorry for not arranging an appointment with your people first, but I had been a little busy to do it, so my partners and I decided to come personally." The Kid said while giving Courtney a mocking look.

"W-where are m-my..." Courtney tried to talk, but was cut by The Kid.

"Your bodyguards? They are crying for their mommies right now. It's amazing what mad scientists can create these days, don't you think?" The Kid said while motioning her to walk out from the bedroom. He forced Courtney to walk in front of him, with a gun aiming at her back.

When the mayor walked downstairs, she almost fainted at the view of all her employees, including the bodyguards, crying and with begging eyes, some of them kneeled and others hugging each other, while Tim Tug, Jean Claude, and Bumble Man (all of them with their regular respective gangster, pirate, and bee's outfits) were aiming at them with the special gas guns. At a distance, The Shark smiled deviously when watching The Kid with the mayor.

"W-what do you want?" Courtney managed to say.

"Simple, Miss Gripling. We don't like people that insult us, so we're going to use you as the bait to catch and eliminate Super Hunk. After that, well, maybe we can ask for some money for your pretty head; I think one million dollars for each one of us is a fair deal." The Shark explained while grinning evilly at the mayor.

**X-X-X-X**

Half-an-hour later, Chuckie kissed Angelica before she entered the car to attend her meeting. The blonde waved bye to him, and, after Chuckie doing the same, he entered the house and turned on the TV.

"Newsflash! Mayor Gripling had been taken hostage at her own mansion. I repeat; she is a hostage!" Doddie said the moment she appeared on screen, making Chuckie to gasp.

"According to the last reports, it seems that, about ninety minutes ago, there was a break-out on Everwood Prison. The criminals who escaped were Sean Butler, Timothy McNulty, Jean Claude, and Abner E. Jasper, better known as Kill-A-Lot Kid, Tim Thug... okay, Jean Claude has no nickname, and Bumble Man. Apparently, they were aided by the famous criminal known only as The Shark, who drugged all the prison's guards with some undetermined chemical. The five of them had taken control of the mayor's mansion, and are keeping everyone as hostages. To make things worse, about ten minutes ago, the rest of the prison's criminals started a riot and are trying to escape while I'm talking. The police ask the citizens to please stay at home and avoid going out unless it's truly necessary until the situation gets controlled." Doddie informed.

"Chanfle! Law or not, I have to do something!" Chuckie said to himself, and dashed upstairs to grab his disguise. However, at that moment, the phone rang, and he stopped to answer.

"Chuckie? It's me, Kimi. You heard the news?" Kimi asked from the other side of the line.

"Yes, I did. I'm getting ready to go right now." Chuckie replied.

"Stay right there! You know you can't do anything heroic in this town without revealing your secret ID. Tommy just called me, and he is going to help the cops supporting Super Hunk at the mayor's house while the rest of the police force, me included, attends the prison's riot." Kimi informed.

"What? The commander is not going to allow Super Hunk to be in charge of a hostages' situation, right?" Chuckie said, shocked.

"We have to. The Shark already sent us a few demands, and the main one is that he wants Super Hunk to try stopping them without any help. If we do anything to aid him at the mansion besides keeping any crowd under control, your enemies will eliminate the mayor." Kimi explained. Chuckie kept silence for a few seconds.

"Kimi, you know I have to keep my secret ID to protect all my loved ones... but, if you get in troubles, please summon me. Your life is more important than my secret." Chuckie said to his sister in an almost begging tone.

"Okay, promise. But you have to promise me as well that you'll stay at home unless someone summons you." Kimi replied.

"Promise. Please, take care." Chuck sighed. He knew Kimi was a very capable officer, but he couldn't ignore his big brother's instincts.

"I'll do. Thanks. Love you, bro." Kimi said in a kind tone and then cut the call.

Chuck decided to put his disguise anyway, just in case, while pondering about a way to help the cops at the prison. Even if he didn't trust SH to direct such a delicate operation like rescuing the mayor, Chuck knew Tommy would be there, and, since his identity wasn't a secret, he could help SH even if the egotistical hero didn't want it.

_Oh, rats! How I'm going to help without breaking that law? Okay, Angelica says every contract or law has at least a loophole you can use for your gain. There most be one for me._ Chuckie thought while pacing back and forth. He found one of The ColoRed Chuck's action figures, that Angelica decided to keep, right next to the phone, and grabbed it, sighing in sadness. Then, he realized something, and his expression brightened.

_Of course! Tommy isn't the only hero with a public identity! _Chuck thought while quickly grabbing his agenda. After a few seconds, he found a number, and grabbed the phone to dial it, getting an anxious expression that disappeared the moment the person the other side of the line answered.

"Hello? Doctor Wakeman? The ColoRed Chuck here." Chuckie said at the phone, smiling widely.

**X-X-X-X**

At the mansion, Susie and Harold, alongside a few other cops, formed a barricade around the house to keep the curious away. Luckily, since the mansion was located at a very exclusive neighborhood, and it was a Saturday's morning, there were very few people to control.

"Hey, Sergeant!" Susie and Harold turned when hearing another cop calling them. They saw two of their officers carrying a man with a black business suit, who Susie recognized as one of Courtney's bodyguards.

"We saw him hidden behind some bushes the other side of the yard. He doesn't want to talk, and seems to be pretty scared." One of the officers commented to Susie while she approached to check the bodyguard. He was totally pale, and his eyes were wide open, staring at the space.

"Easy, pal. You're with friends now. Please, tell us what happened in there." Susie said to the man in a comforting way, trying to make him react. The bodyguard looked at her, and muttered something nobody could listen.

"Can you please talk a little louder?" Harold, right next to Susie, asked.

"I-I-I saw... SNAKES! Hundreds of them!" The man finally replied in terror.

"Snakes?" Susie repeated, puzzled. Harold gave the man a long look, and gasped.

"Of course! The panic state, hallucinations, the drug used at the prison... Susie, this guy was infected with The Scarecrow's toxin!" Harold told his girlfriend.

"A toxin called _Scarecrow_?" Susie replied, confused.

"No, a toxin created by The Scarecrow, a super villain from Gotham City. You know I like to read a lot about heroes and their stunts, and I remember an article from a magazine I read some time ago concerning this particular toxin. It makes the victims to experiment their worst fears; some of them even get traumatized for life, unless you give them an antidote on time. And forget about gas masks; that stuff can also get absorbed through the skin." Harold informed Susie.

"The Shark. I'm sure he is the one who got the formula to prepare some of that stuff." The female sergeant got a serious expression, but, a moment later, she wide smiled at her partner.

"Harold, that's exactly what we needed to know! We can call Gotham City Police Department, and ask them for the information about how to treat the victims." Susie told Harold right before giving him a slight kiss on his cheek. Then, she instructed the officers to take the bodyguard with the paramedics (who were already there with an ambulance) while she and Harold dashed to their patrol to ask the guys at the station to contact Gotham.

"Gotham? Why calling them, when you have me?" Susie and Harold turned to see Super Hunk advancing towards them, with Betty and Brittney at his side, as usual, while the few people behind the barricade cheered at him. He had overheard a little of Susie's speech, and wasn't happy with the idea of involving another superhero, especially one who surely wouldn't care about the "official hero" law.

"Those guys are using a toxin created by a villain from there, so Susie is going to ask for information about how to neuter it." Harold informed the hero while Susie kept talking with the guys at the station. SH rubbed his chin.

"Okay, you can do it while I, by using the magnificent power contained in my glorious body, handle the criminals. This will end quickly." Super Hunk said in his usual arrogant tone while he and his assistants started walking towards the mansion's main door.

"Wait! Are you insane?" Tommy, in his Okey Dokey Jones' outfit, arrived at that moment, yelling at Super Hunk. The caped hero turned and gave him an annoyed look.

"Oh, is the glorified archeologist. Don't you know I have to attend some heroic business here? Besides, you can't play hero in this town, remember?" Super Hunk said to Tommy while rolling his eyes. Tommy kept his cool, and directed to him in a very serious tone.

"Yes, I remember that stupid law, and, according to it, I can be a hero in this city if I go by my real name, Thomas Pickles. Now, if you wanna listen for once in your life, you must know you're making a huge mistake here! Harold has information about the weapons those criminals are using, and you should listen to him before getting into action." Tommy explained; he handled to hear a little of Harold's explanation, and saw the bodyguard when arriving, recognizing the substance that affected him.

"Super Hunk doesn't need that information. He is more powerful than any weapon." Betty replied while pointing at SH, who conserved his superiority pose.

"And you ladies are?" Tommy directed to Betty and Brittney. The females and SH got puzzled expressions. Harold entered the conversation.

"That's another mistake you almost made. From what I know, you like keeping your assistants close to you when doing a stunt, but this time you are going to be in a closed space, with toxic gas and, surely, regular weaponry involved. They can get hurt, or even worse." Harold explained while Tommy nodded. Despite not being the smartest guy around, Harold knew his job and the measures needed to attend a hostages' situation.

Super Hunk and the females gulped. Certainly, Super Hunk always protected them when he was catching a criminal, but most of his fights were on open spaces and all the criminals' attention was always on him. However, this time there was a major risk of the females getting hurt by accident, or being captured to be used as hostages as well.

"I-I didn't consider that." Super Hunk admitted while rubbing his temples, and getting a slightly pale look. Tommy noticed this, and changed his angry expression for a concerned one.

"Hey, are you feeling okay? Fighting criminals and being sick is a disastrous mixture." Tommy said, honestly worried, since he knew Courtney's safety was mainly on SH's hands.

"Of course he is okay! He is just worried about us, because he is as compassionate and caring as he is handsome." Brittney said, folding her arms. Super Hunk's expression brightened again.

"Yes, I'm that wonderful. Okay, my babes, you heard them. For once, I must give these guys reason, and ask you to wait me here until I return with my fallen enemies." Super Hunk told his assistants, who nodded and gave him a little kiss each one. Then, he walked towards the mansion, alone.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Harold commented Tommy.

"So do I; don't you guys usually have a SWAT team for these emergencies?" Tommy asked. Susie (who was at her patrol during the whole exchange) approached them, and answered his friend's question.

"Half of the SWAT team is on its way to the prison, and the other half, well... the guys at the station told me that many of them were poisoned with the fear's toxin. Apparently, our favorite spy decided to take no risks, and dropped some gas bombs on their homes during the night. Luckily, we just contacted Gotham, and they're faxing us all the information they have about the poison and how to prepare the antidote." Susie explained Tommy.

"Okay. Then, it's up to us. You two do your job, and prepare your officers for the worst. I'll try to sneak into the mansion from behind it, and rescue the hostages while Super Hunk keeps the criminals busy." Tommy explained his plan to the sergeants, who agreed with it, and then Okey Dokey Jones dashed the other side of the barricade to surround the mansion and reach the back.

"Maybe one of us should go with him, don't you think? This is our job, after all." Harold told Susie the moment Tommy was out of sight.

"Yes, but right now we are more useful here. Those criminals aren't expecting any hero besides Super Hunk, so Tommy will have the surprise element on his side. The best we can do is being ready to attack the mansion the moment we know the hostages are safe." Susie replied. She knew that, at the moment, she had limited resources to fight these villains, so Tommy's strategy was the best option.

On the meantime, Super Hunk was already in the mansion's main room, searching from the hostages or the villains. He then noticed all the hostages, but the mayor, in the middle of the room, looking at him with fear-filled eyes.

"Relax, my dear citizens. I, the great, powerful, fantastic, not to mention handsome and modest, Super Hunk is here to save all of you. Please, stand up and I'll guide you all to the closest exit." SH said while approaching them, not noticing one of them pointing timidly to the ceiling.

"You're mine, _buzz._" Super Hunk handled to hear a quiet voice coming from the ceiling. He looked up, and discovered Bumble Man handing from the chandelier, pointing at him with his darts' gun. When the villain got discovered, he started shooting at SH, causing all the hostages to scream in fear.

Super Hunk quickly crossed his arms in front of his face, and tensed his muscles. He wasn't invulnerable, but, over the years, he had learned that, by doing this, he could make his muscles and skin extremely resistant to impacts. As a result, the darts bounced on him without causing any damage.

"QUICK! Run to the exit! Now!" SH shouted to the hostages while receiving all the darts. The people hesitated a moment, but, eventually, the preservation instinct made them to dash away.

"Not bad, Super Dumb, but let's see how you handle this one." Kill-A-Lot Kid said while entering the room by another door, alongside Tim Thug, both aiming at SH with the gas guns, shooting all the charge against the hero. Super Hunk held his breath, and wide opened his arms before clapping as hard as he could, creating a current that cleared the gas.

"Now, if that's all you have, it's my turn." SH smirked and cracked his knuckles while approaching the villains.

"Curious. I thought all your hair was black, but I see some gray from here, _buzz_." Bumble Man commented, still hanging from the chandelier. The effect of his little comment was quite unexpected.

"**W-WHAT? A GRAY HAIR? **That's impossible!" SH exclaimed while dashing next to a mirror he spotted at the room, looking desperately for the dreaded gray hair. The villains looked at each other, confused, especially since it seemed SH's skin was getting a pale tone.

**X-X-X-X**

Meanwhile, at Retroville, a beautiful green-eyed blond young woman, wearing a green blouse and brown pants, approached an apparently ordinary club house the kind kids build with planks they find here and there, located in a backyard. However, this house had a DNA analyzer and a speaker on the door. The blonde pushed a button on the speaker, and talked to it.

"Hey, Nerdtron, it's me. Let me in!" The blonde said, and, a couple of seconds later, a trap door opened under her feet, making her to fall. Fortunately, she landed in a mattress, softening the fall. She now was in an underground lab, and an extremely advanced one. Its owner no longer lived on the house the backyard was located, but the lab had grown so much over the years, he decided to keep it there. He didn't live very far from the lab anyway, and could work here for hours without being disturbed.

"You need to build another way to get in, you know that?" The female directed to the person in front of her, James Neutron, the lab's creator and owner, and her fiancé, who was sitting in front of his main computer with Goddard, his robotic dog, next to him.

"Morning, Cindy." Jimmy greeted her with a soft smile. The genius then covered his mouth and yawned; it was obvious he had been working on something the whole night. Cindy noticed this, and, after playfully scratching Goddard's head, she placed her arms around Jimmy's shoulders, kissing him softly on his neck.

"A hard night, uh? I hope you didn't forget we have to check the invitations today." Cindy told him in a half-serious tone. Jimmy shook slightly his head, and smiled at her.

"Of course I didn't; even my most important projects aren't as relevant as our wedding." Jimmy replied while gently rubbing Cindy's face. The blonde and the genius kissed for a few seconds, and then directed their attention to the screen.

"What were you working on anyway? A new nearly-catastrophic invention or you're just improving a previous one?" Cindy asked, truly interested. Even if she wasn't a science genius like Jimmy, her intelligence was still a lot above average, and she could aid him in several projects.

"Nope... but it's something very important. You see, when I visited Nick, I made my hover car's devices to scan his aura while we were talking so, even if he doesn't agree with me checking him, that way I can analyze his powers and see if there is any risk about using them. Of course, since this analysis had to be done secretly, I needed several days to get a proper diagnosis." Jimmy explained.

"Oh. And what did you got? Nick isn't going to get sick or something like that, right?" Cindy asked, concerned. She almost died the first time she got superpowers, and knew how painful it was.

"Maybe. Maybe not. According to this, Nick's aura is powered by his brain waves; more precisely, the ones related with the pleasant stimulation. And you know what's the thing that makes him happy the most," Jimmy told her.

"Being admired by other people; more like worshiped, actually." Cindy shrugged.

"Exactly. The aura produces a low level hypnosis, not strong enough to make you follow him blindly, and it seems it can be resisted if you block the aura-induced stimulation with a strong feeling, like rage, love, or, in my case when I visited him, concern. However, it has a wide range of action, so the aura can affect a large amount of people at the same time, even through TV, and, since Nick already knew how to get people's attention for a long time before the accident, it's quite effective, producing both an increase on his natural charisma and a special psychic wave that affects the brain the same way pheromones would do it." Jimmy explained.

"So, there is a feed-back cycle here. Nick needs people to flatter him to keep his aura strong, and the aura makes people to do it." Cindy deduced. Jimmy replied with a wide smile.

"You're right again. However, there is a complication. The aura's energy fades quickly, so Nick needs constant flattering. And there's the detail of his strength's origin. Apparently, the machine made its job about making Nick's body to find a way to resist his powers, changing the energy excess into super-strength, so, if Nick aura is weakened, he might lose the strength as well. Worst of all, if he gets a lot of unpleasant stimulation against his vanity like well directed insults, or strong blows to his ego, the aura will lose its energy even faster. It's quite possible Nick doesn't know about it because he always have Betty and Brittney next to him for moral support, so every decrease on his energy levels is always fixed by them cheering him up. But, if he ever has a hard fight without anyone cheering for him and Nick gets very badly insulted or his ego is damaged..." Jimmy paused, getting a worried expression.

"I get the picture. How much can he be affected?" Cindy asked.

"More than he would like. According to my lectures, when I visited him, his energy decreased twice, and it was right after I made comments that surely hurt his ego a little. Probably Nick felt them like a cold's symptoms, or something like that, and since he wasn't doing a hard effort, and he knows I didn't really mean to hurt his feelings, just lecture him and express my anger, he recovered quickly. I also checked, frame by frame, his meeting with The ColoRed Chuck, and noticed he got a disturbed expression when CH made two comments that hurt his ego, but, again, he was surrounded by hundreds of people enforcing him, and that expression can be easily confused with an annoyed or surprised one, so nobody, not even him, would notice the weakening at that time." Jimmy commented.

"Guess we should call Nick right now to warn him." Cindy proposed.

"Certainly. VOX, communicate me with Super Hunk; use his direct line." Jimmy instructed his computer. A few moments later, VOX's electronic voice was heard.

"There's no answer, Jimmy. I tried communicating with Everwood's Police Department, but nobody answered either." The computer said. Jimmy rubbed his chin, and directed to Goddard.

"Goddard, keep trying to communicate with Nick; he probably is on one mission or something like that, probably assisting the police. Call me when you do it so I can talk with him, no matter where I am, okay?" Jimmy instructed his dog while standing up. The canine barked in reply, and turned to see the computer's screen; since the dog had a direct link with VOX, he could keep trying contacting Nick, and connect him with Jimmy and Cindy's cell phones the moment he got an answer.

"Let's go, Cindy. I'll just shower, and then I'm all yours." Jimmy told his fiancé while holding hands and walking to the lab's exit.

"When you hadn't?" Cindy replied in a playful tone. Jimmy chuckled, and opened the exit's automatic doors. He gave Goddard a last look before leaving, and sighed.

_I just hope Nick doesn't do something stupid, and my discovery isn't too late_. Jimmy thought.

**X-X-X-X**

Jean Claude entered the mansion's main room when he stopped listening fight's sounds. Since they were just five crooks, he and The Shark were in charge of watching while the rest handled the fighting.

"What's going on here?" The pirate asked, getting a confused expression when noticing SH checking his hair obsessively.

"No idea. Bumble Man made a comment about this guy's hair, and he just forgot about us. And I might be wrong, but he looks a little pale; maybe he's sick." Tim informed the pirate. Jean Claude looked at the hero, and agreed with the gangster.

"You are right. He really looks like he's anemic or something." Jean Claude said. Super Hunk overheard him, and gulped.

"A-anemic? It can't be! I keep a good diet, and, well, I'm perfect! I can't get sick!" SH said in horror while looking at his face, getting scared when noticing he was getting pale.

"Perfect? This guy has a huge mouth. And he's not even that powerful. Now I see him at this distance, he's not a big deal." The Kid told his partners. SH looked at them, and got a shocked expression.

"N-no big deal? B-but I'm great!" The hero tried saying more, but he couldn't because of an acute stomachache that made him to lean in pain.

"This guy is pathetic, _buzz_. And coming from a guy like me, who is always mocked because of his disguise, that's truly serious, _buzz_," Bumble Man commented while folding his arms. Super Hunk gasped, and wide opened his eyes in shock.

"W-what's wrong with me? I hadn't being sick since I got my powers, not even once!" SH said loudly to himself.

Jean Claude got an evil grin. He and The Shark were the smartest ones of the group, so he deduced the reason SH was in such pain.

"If you are so good, why you hadn't captured us yet? Maybe that's why the UHPS rejected you... because you're not the great hero you think you are. You can't even stand a few insults." Jean Claude told the hero in a venomous tone, making him to get an even more pained expression, and sweat cold.

"I-I am great. I-I am the b-best!" SH said, trying to use his heroic tone, but self-flattering wasn't working on him, since he wasn't so sure about what he was saying because of the sudden weakening and pain..

Jean Claude cracked his knuckles, and his grin grew. Then, he directed to his partners, who now were grinning as well.

"Gentlemen, I think we had discovered his kryptonite."


	9. Action heroes

**- Action Heroes.**

**CRACK!**

Super Hunk's head broke a valuable jar, and it wasn't by his own choice. Tim Thug and Kill-A-Lot Kid made him to do it by lifting his bruised body, and throwing him against the large ornament. Super Hunk held his head in pain; he hadn't being injured since he got his powers, and had already forgotten how it felt. Unfortunately for him, the four criminals in front of him made a pretty good job giving him a reminder.

"This is funny! The only thing that could be better would be doing this to The ColoRed Chuck instead of this loser." Tim commented, laughing evilly. His tone, and the last words, hurt SH as much as the combined attack.

"I agree, but this is great anyway! And, best of all, we are finishing a hero's career! That would look great in our curriculum, if villains had one, I mean." Jean Claude replied, standing next to the fallen hero, right after giving him a sharp kick on his ribs.

"I thought our police files were our curriculums, _buzz_." Bumble Man told his partners while joining Jean Claude on the kicking of the hero.

"That's a good one, bee guy!" The Kid laughed, and then leaned to grab SH from his collar, and make him stand up.

"You heard the pirate, Super Fool? Your career is done! Even if, by some miracle, the cops can stop us before we finish you, you'll never be able to play hero again!" The Kid snapped at SH while punching him on the belly. Super Hunk gasped, both because of the punches and the cowboy's words.

"Yeah. By tomorrow, every criminal will know about your weakness, and since everyone with half a brain can think a couple of good insults, you'll never be able to fight a crook again. Even a guy who steals candy from a baby will surely beat you!" Tim added while giving a strong punch to SH's face.

"And besides, I think you would need a bigger mask, _buzz_! Just look at your face now, _buzz_!" Bumble Man said while grabbing the wall's mirror, and placing it in front of Super Hunk. The hero shocked when saw himself; because of the beating, his handsomeness was almost totally gone, replaced by large bruises, cuts, and a blackened eye. The impression made him to weaken even more, and surely he would have fainted if the criminals weren't holding and slapping him.

"I think we had been a little too tough with our guest, don't you think, guys? I have an idea; let's give him a chance to fight us, one on one." Jean Claude suggested, smirking at SH. The other villains, grinning, agreed with him and released Super Hunk, who hardly could stand on his feet.

"Good idea. And you'll better cooperate, Stuper Dumb, or we'll go back to attack you all at once." Tim pointed to the hero while cracking his knuckles; he would be the first. SH looked at the gangster, and knew he had to defend himself, so he did his best to get a fighting stance; before getting his powers, Nick had been a good fighter, so he thought that, maybe, he would at least hurt the villains a little and give time to the cops to enter the house and save him.

Super Hunk threw a punch against Tim, who easily dodged it, and replied with a fast jab to the hero's liver. Super Hunk leaned in pain, and received two strong punches on his face. Then, when he felt like falling, Tim grabbed him by his shoulders, forcing him to stand up, and slapped him violently a few times before throwing a direct hit to his kisser, sending SH to the floor, unconscious. He woke up a few seconds later, thanks to some water from a fishbowl Bumble Man could find. SH lifted his aching face, looking at Kill-A-Lot Kid, who was in front of him, smirking.

"My turn." The Kid said before leaning to force SH to stand up and fight.

**X-X-X-X**

At the prison, things weren't going well for the Police. The prisoners were now on the watchtowers, shooting against the officers with the guns they took from the jail's weaponry room and the guards.

"Why we don't just throw some tearing gas to weak them, and then we enter? We have gas masks, they don't!" Phil asked Kimi. They both were behind a patrol (using it as a shield against the prisoners' shots), alongside Lil and Commander Pangborn, all wearing bullet-proof vests and special helmets.

"Yes, but they have all the guards and the warden as hostages! We know they have them locked in some cells, and, if we try using the gas, they'll shoot them in reply!" Kimi told Phil. Commander Pangborn, who was next to Lil, directed to Kimi.

"Well, I'll accept any suggestion. If this situation continues, we'll need to break into the jail anyway, and surely that will be disastrous for both sides." The huge man told the young captain.

"Well, I hate to be the one saying _I told you_, but, with all the respect you deserve from me, sir, I already suggested to have Super Hunk fighting here, and sending more officers and the rest of the SWAT team to aid Sergeants Carmichael and Rumkin with the mayor's problem, despite The Shark's demands. A super-powered, almost totally bullet-proof guy like him is more suited to handle a situation like this instead of a delicate one like the mansion assignment! We did just what the criminals wanted!" Kimi snapped at her superior. Even if he disliked this kind of tone coming from one of his subordinates, the commander had to admit she was right. He made a huge mistake by sending the hero to save the mayor instead of having him where he would be more useful, and now the man was regretting it.

"Fine. Call Carmichael, and tell her to send Super Hunk here. We'll send her some support the moment he arrives." The commander said to the captain. Kimi nodded, and used her official communicator to contact her friend.

"Susie? Kimi here. The situation at the jail is getting worse by the minute. We need Super Hunk here; I'll send you the SWAT guys when he arrives... oh, my! Are you serious? Okay, resist there. He's is helping you guys? Good. Be careful." Kimi got a concerned expression at the last part.

"What's going on? There're problems at the mansion?" Lil asked, worried.

"Yes. Super Hunk already released most of the hostages, but Gripling is still trapped inside with the criminals, and they hadn't got news from Super Hunk for the last ten minutes. Luckily, Okey Dokey Jones is there to help as well." Kimi informed the other officers.

"What? We can't allow any hero to assist us besides Super Hunk! That's against the law!" Commander Pangborn almost roared.

"Yes, you can, if Super Hunk isn't available, or the hero reveals his, or her, secret identity." A female voice was heard from behind them. The officers turned to see who was talking, and got awe expressions.

"The ColoRed Chuck contacted me. You guys need someone to protect the hostages while you drop the bombs, right?" The female said in a serious tone.

Kimi smiled widely. Even if Chuckie wasn't allowed to help them, he still cared about his city, and had lots of well-intentioned and powerful friends.

**X-X-X-X**

Tommy entered the mansion's backyard using some trees and bushes for coverage. From that observation's point, he noticed The Shark watching from one of the second floor's windows. Tommy guessed that, surely, the spy would be guarding the mayor, so he needed to reach that room. When the spy directed his attention to the contrary side Tommy was hiding, he dashed to one side of the building, and then, after being sure The Shark couldn't see him, he took a rope with a hook out from his explorer's jacket.

"Personal note; accept Dil's offer about letting him make a grappling gun for me." Tommy said to himself while making the hook to gain impulse, and then he threw it to the mansion's rooftop. Once he got sure the hook was secure, Tommy started climbing as fast and silently as he could.

Inside the mayor's bedroom, The Shark, carrying a regular gun, was looking out the window, being careful to not being so visible so a sniper couldn't hit him at a distance. In the middle of the room, Courtney was sitting on a chair, tied and gagged, looking at the spy with a scared expression. The room's door was open so the spy could see anyone coming upstairs, and they both could easily hear the noise caused by the fight (more like, beating) downstairs, making The Shark to smile and Courtney to be even more scared, since they could hear the four criminals' laughter.

"I wonder how my partners dominated Super Dork so easily. Maybe he got poisoned by Bumble Man's darts, or is victim of the fear's gas; anyway, my buddies are having some fun with him." The Shark directed a predatory smile to his hostage.

"You know, Miss Gripling, you have a very good chance to escape this problem with a minimal damage. If you tell me the code number to get into the city's account, well, maybe we'll be nicer." The Shark said while taking a little pocket computer from his black jacket. Sure, he wanted his revenge on the guy who insulted him, but this was a great chance to get a fortune; he could easily enter the city's accounts and transfer a huge capital to his own secret ones.

Courtney wide opened her eyes (even more), but, a second later, she narrowed them, and shook her head. She had many defects, but the blonde really cared about her city (when she gave SH the position of official hero, besides being influenced by his aura, she honestly thought that was the best for her town), and wouldn't be the one betraying the citizens. The Shark scowled at her, but, after a few seconds, he grinned evilly, and leaned next to her.

"You should cooperate, you know. If not, well, I don't like the idea of my partners being the only ones having fun. I would love having some amusement with you, if you know what I mean." The Shark whispered to Courtney, who got a look who was a perfect mixture of nausea and shock.

Before the spy could do anything else, he heard a noise coming from the rooftop. It sounded a lot like a gun shot, but a little quieter. The Shark quickly moved to the center of the room, and aimed his gun to the ceiling.

"It seems like someone is trying to enter the mansion from the rooftop." The Shark said in an angry tone.

CRAACK!

The spy released the gun, with his hand in pain, thanks to a powerful hit courtesy of Okey Dokey Jones' whip. The hero was standing at the door, happy to see that the little firecracker (with a very long fuse) he had placed on the rooftop made its job.

"Wrong, Shark! I used one of the other rooms' windows!" Tommy informed the villain. The Shark placed his not-injured hand inside one of his jacket's pockets, searching for the gas gun, but couldn't take it out because Tommy threw his whip against the villain, making it to do a lasso-like action, and the spy got trapped with his hand inside the pocket, unable to escape.

"Tim! Kill...!"

PUNCH! WHAM! POW!

The Shark tried calling for help, but was cut by Tommy's punches, knocking him out. The hero then released the mayor, who sighed in relief once her mouth was free.

"Thanks, thanks, thanks! I'll name a street after you!" Courtney said to Tommy while hugging him in gratitude.

"That's not necessary, but thanks for the detail. Now, once I tie this guy, we'll get out of here. I'll need to carry you on my back so we can escape the same way I entered." Tommy informed her while breaking the embrace and grabbing the same ropes the spy used to tie the mayor to do it with him.

"How about Super Hunk? It seems he is having some serious trouble down there." Courtney said, honestly concerned. Tommy started to tie the fallen criminal, and directed to her.

"I'll contact the cops and tell them to enter the house the moment you're safe. Of course, we need to know if the other hostages are fine as well so the Police can attack at full force." Tommy informed the mayor while finishing his job with the spy.

**X-X-X-X**

Inside the jail, a group of prisoners was guarding their hostages, trapped inside several cells.

"I don't like this. What if the cops decide to get inside the jail anyway? Most of all might get killed!" One of the prisoners said, obviously scared by the battle sounds coming from the outside.

"Calm down, fool! If anyone tries entering this place, that idiot will be as good as dead. I mean, even if the police attacks, how many officers do you think will be able to reach this part of the prison? Maybe one or two at most," A tougher-looking prisoner replied in a smooth tone.

**KRABOOM!**

In a perfect cue, the floor under the prisoners exploded, making them to fall to the basement through the hole left, except for a few ones who could jump aside.

"How about one with the strength of a million and seventy?" A female voice came from the hole. A moment later, a teenager emerged from the hole; one with bright metallic skin, and flight by jet-boots.

"Jennifer Wakeman. Global Response Unit XJ-9. You are all under arrest." The girl said in an authoritarian tone. The prisoners gasped, and started shooting at her, but the bullets did as much damage as paper balls.

"Stand back, tin can girl, or the hostages are done!" One of the criminals yelled while aiming at the people inside the cells. Jennifer replied by transforming one of his hands into a magnet and aiming it at the criminals; one moment later, all the small sized metallic objects around her, including the guns and some dental fillings, were attracted by the magnet, leaving the criminals unarmed.

"Now, you guys are going to cooperate, or I need to play tough girl here?" Jennifer narrowed her eyes while changing her hand back to normal, and crushing effortlessly the guns in front of the prisoners. The criminals paled and nodded.

Jennifer took all the hostages out from the cells, and motioned the criminals to get inside. She then took a little microphone out from one of her fingers, and spoke to it.

"Jennie here. Mission accomplished. The hostages are with me. I'll protect them while you guys attack the prison." Jennie said in a happy tone.

"Thanks, Jennie. We'll handle everything from here." Kimi replied her.

Outside the prison, Kimi informed the commander about Jennie's success, and, a minute later, he gave the order to start shooting gas bombs into the jail, causing all the criminals to cough and get partially blinded. Jennie, by turning her hands into fans, ventilated the gas so the hostages weren't affected, and it could reach easily the rest of the building.

"Attention! All the officers, order 4-3B; in other words... LET'S KICK SOME BUTTS!" Pangborn informed all the cops by radio. Soon, almost all the officers were inside the jail, dominating the criminals with relative easiness, thanks to the gas' effects.

A little group of prisoners handled to escape taking advantage of the fact almost all the cops were busy with the largest group of criminals.

Almost.

"Going somewhere?" Kimi, who decided to stay out of the prison alongside Phil and Lil to handle any possible escape, directed to the group. The largest criminal, who seemed to be the leader, threw a punch against her, but the captain easily blocked it, and gave the criminal a couple of well directed karate-chops on his chest and neck, and a powerful round-kick that put him down for the count. Phil directed to Kimi while he and Lil aimed at the rest of the group with their guns.

"Cool moves, babe... I mean, Captain, sir, no, I mean, madame, no, mademoiselle!" Phil shook his head in embarrassment. He and Kimi had been dating for a while, and at times he forgot to talk to her as a superior when they were on an assignment together.

"Don't "babe" me on service hours, Officer DeVille!" Kimi said in a fake angry tone. Then, she chuckled, and gave him a playful punch on his shoulder right before taking out her gun and motioning the captured criminals to get inside the jail while Lil handcuffed the unconscious one.

Inside the prison, the situation was already under control. The few criminals who escaped the cops tried the "brilliant" idea of going to the hostages' cells and get a human shield, so Jennie could catch them easily.

"Captain, contact Carmichael. Tell her we're sending the SWAT team to the mansion right now." The commander informed Kimi when she passed next to him. The young captain nodded, and hurried to her patrol to contact Susie.

**X-X-X-X**

Tommy and Courtney were received by the cops and paramedics outside the mansion. The hostages were receiving the proper attention, since they were still under the effects of the fear toxin. Tommy handled the paramedics a couple of gas guns he got from The Shark when he defeated him; with some luck, one of them would be the one with the antidote (Courtney overheard the criminals talking about it), so it could be used to treat the victims.

"Good. All the hostages are free, and Kimi just called me to tell us the prison's situation was solved and the help is coming. Now, we just have to wait for help, or Super Hunk to take out the criminals." Susie commented. Tommy got a serious look.

"I wouldn't count with that. From what I heard inside that house, Super Hunk is in trouble. The Shark is, at least for now, out from the fight, but the others seems to be beating SH really badly." Tommy informed, making Betty and Brittney, who were behind him, with the media persons, to gasp in shock.

"It can't be! Super Hunk had defeated more than ten guys at a time without breaking a sweat!" Betty said, not believing Tommy's words. At that moment, a girlish scream was heard from the mansion, making everyone to turn in surprise.

"I thought all the hostages were saved! There's still a woman inside!" Harold wide opened his eyes. Betty and Brittney looked at each other, and gulped.

"Uh... that was Super Hunk. Way before he got his powers, he screamed that way when he was extremely scared." Brittney told the cops and Tommy. She only had heard Nick screaming like that once, but it was impossible to forget that sound.

"Oh, great! He probably got poisoned by that fear stuff. Now we have to make a plan to save him." Susie sighed, frustrated and worried at the same time.

"Kimi said the robot girl is helping the cops at the prison. Maybe we can call and ask her to save SH. I mean, gas doesn't affect robots, right?" Harold proposed, making everyone to look at him with their eyes wide-opened.

"Harold, sometimes you're a genius!" Tommy replied while Susie kissed him again. Unfortunately, at that moment, Kill-A-Lot Kid's head emerged from the mansion's door, interrupting the celebration.

"Hey, dopes! In case you're planning some daring rescue to help the coward you call a hero, just let me tell you to forget about it! We'll be hitting him with no rest at all until we get our money, so, if you try saving him, he'll be at the right distance to be killed in a split second!" Kill-A-Lot yelled, laughing evilly when done. He then returned inside the mansion, leaving everyone frustrated. A few seconds later, his head emerged again.

"Oh, and before I forget, we aren't using Fear Toxin against him. That scream was caused by totally natural cowardice!" The Kid said before going back into the house. Betty and Brittney got extremely scared looks.

"Poor Nick!" Betty sobbed, not caring if anyone could hear her calling SH by his real name.

"We should have been there to keep him strong!" Brittney sobbed as well, making everyone but Betty to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Doddie, who was there among the other reporters, asked the blonde assistant.

"We'll tell you later! Now, somebody, please rescue him!" Betty snapped at everyone, extremely upset and with her eyes already red. She and Brittney, by personal experience, had learned that Nick seemed to get stronger when they were cheering for him, but had no idea about how important that support was for him.

Susie started barking orders. Since the robotic assistance's idea now seemed to be as dangerous to Super Hunk's life as any other plan, she just motioned all the officers to surround the house and be ready to enter the moment they had a better idea, or until the SWAT arrived.

**X-X-X-X**

"Chanfle, I just love to scare people!" Kill-A-Lot commented the other criminals while waiting for his turn to beat Super Hunk. At the moment, it was Jean Claude's turn, and the pirate was enjoying greatly his soccer practice, with SH as the ball.

"I'll go with The Shark to tell him about this. I'm sure he'll enjoy hitting this imbecile... right after my next turn, of course." Tim commented with an evil grin. Of course, he and the other villains had no idea about Tommy's little visit to rescue Courtney, and that the spy was tied and gagged, unable to tell them.

Super Hunk opened his left eye as much as he could (the right one was just too blackened to see a thing), and looked at the villains, more scared than ever in his life. A single tear rolled down his cheek, and started mumbling something.

"Hey, he wants to talk, _buzz_!" Bumble Man pointed, making Jean Claude to stop kicking him to look at the fallen hero. The villains leaned to see him moving his lips, who now had almost doubled their size, but couldn't hear a thing.

"Hey, Jean Claude, you know how to read lips, right?" The Kid asked the pirate. Jean Claude nodded, and leaned for a closer look.

"I think he is saying... _Oh... and now... who... will... help me?_" Jean Claude translated.

"I!" The villains turned when hearing the voice they hated the most.

"The ColoRed Chuck!... Wait, where is him?" Tim said when noticing his enemy wasn't on view. Jean Claude had an idea, and started looking down, discovering a small red-outfitted figure at a distance.

"He reduced himself again! Shoot him!" Jean Claude said while shooting at the little target. The other criminals did the same.

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!...**

The target exploded because of the shots, leaving several little pieces scattered around the point it originally was. The villains grinned in happiness.

"Yeeeehaaa! We finished him!" Kill-A-Lot exclaimed, excited. Jean Claude leaned to see the little corpse, and gasped.

"Hey, when The ColoRed Chuck had been made of plastic?" The pirate said while grabbing one little arm. The other villains approached, and looked at the arm; as Jean Claude said, it was entirely made of plastic. It was the toy Angelica had left on her house.

"Didn't count with my cleverness, right?" The criminals turned to see a normal-sized ColoRed Chuck charging against them with his Skweaky Lumper, and attacking at full speed.

SKWEAK!

Jean Claude received a powerful hit on his head, making him to fall on his back.

SKWEAK!

Bumble Man leaned in pain, trying to recover his breath right after Chuck hit his stomach.

SKWEAK!

In a single movement, both Tim and The Kid lost their guns because of a well placed hit.

SKWEAK!

Tim avoided a hit directing to his head, but it got The Kid instead, stunning him. Before Chuck could attack again, Tim charged against him, starting a struggle for the mallet.

Chuck realized Tim was stronger than him, so he used the same tactic he employed against Bumble Man at the bank, releasing the mallet and taking advantage of the momentary surprise to punch his enemy. However, Tim was stronger than Bumble Man as well, so he resisted the hit and replied with a punch of his own. Chuck shook his head and handled to block a second punch while jabbing Tim on the liver. Tim growled, and tried to strangle his enemy, but Chuck grabbed his wrists, keeping the gangster's hands away from his throat.

"Take this, ColoRed Chuck! Fear!" Jean Claude, still on the floor, took out the gas gun, and shot against Chuck and Tim. They immediately stopped fighting, and started coughing.

"Sean, shot Tim with the antidote, quick!" The pirate told the cowboy. The Kid reacted, and separated his now pale ally from Chuck before shooting him with the antidote. Chuck, on the other hand, was kneeled and looking down.

"Chanfle! Thanks, cowboy. That stuff is really strong!" Tim said after a few seconds, recovering from the gas' effects.

"Hey, look at him, _buzz_! He is terrified, _buzz_!" Bumble Man, who was recovering from Chuckie's attack as well, pointed to his partners. They all moved next to the red-suited hero, grinning evilly.

"Iamafraid... Iamafraid... Iamafraid..." Chuck, still looking down, repeated the same phrase over and over. Jean Claude placed the gas gun on his belt, and stepped in front of him.

"Oh, this is so funny! Want to talk slowly, so we can enjoy your pathetic cries for mercy?" Jean Claude said in an arrogant tone while his partners surrounded Chuck.

"I am afraid..." Chuck repeated slowly, and then, in a dashing movement, snatched the pirate's gun, surprising the criminals.

"But that had never stopped me before!" Chuck snapped at them while shooting the gas gun at the villains, making them all to cough and start screaming in fear. Chuck took the chance to recover his mallet, and dash next to Super Hunk.

"Quick, swallow this pill! I'm taking you out of here!" Chuck said to SH while placing a Shrinktolin's pill on his mouth. Chuck noticed Tim wasn't so affected by the toxin, since he just had been sprayed with the antidote, and was trying to get the antidote's gun from The Kid, who was running around the room in panic. Therefore, Chuck had to take SH away from danger as soon as possible before the villains were totally functional again.

Super Hunk swallowed the pill, and, a moment later, was small enough for Chuckie to carry him gently on one hand. Chuck saw Tim spraying the antidote on his partners, and took it as a cue to run upstairs, talking to SH to help him remain awake; after that kind of beating, losing conscience once might mean losing it forever.

"How he resisted that gas, _buzz_?" Bumble Man said, finally regaining control of himself.

"Beats me. But now I'll use a regular gun on him!" Jean Claude said, still scared but slowly replacing his fear with rage.

"I hate to say this, folks, but the cops are coming!" The Kid said to his partners while looking out the window. Because of the shots, Susie thought the criminals were using Super Hunk as a practice's target, and decided it was enough waiting. A moment later, several windows and the main door were broken down by the officers.

"This plan is over! Everyone looks for himself!" Tim yelled while shooting at some cops, who covered behind the furniture. The other criminals agreed, and started shooting as well while dashing in different directions.

Jean Claude decided to run upstairs to get Courtney and use it as hostage, but was intercepted by an afro-American officer who tackled him. The pirate tried to shoot at her, but froze the moment he saw a gun pointing at his eyes.

"You're under arrest, sailor." Susie said in a smug tone. Jean Claude sighed, and dropped his gun so Susie could handcuff him.

Kill-A-Lot dashed through a corridor, shooting over his shoulder once in a while to keep the cops at a distance. He reached the kitchen's door, thinking he might be able to escape through the back door.

"Hey, Kill-A-Lot!" The Kid turned when hearing his name, aiming at his chasers.

CRAACK!

Tommy repeated his whip's stunt, making The Kid to drop his pistol. The cowboy opened the kitchen's door, ready to take out his spare gun.

PAAANG!

The cowboy fell unconscious, thanks to a powerful hit on his face. Harold stood next to him with a broken pan on his hands.

"You have the right to remain knocked out." Harold said with a smile while Tommy and some cops gave him the thumbs up. Being a major eater, Harold decided to get into the mansion through the kitchen's door.

Tim could reach the door that connected the garage with the house, founding Courtney's limo. Tim got an idea, and, after blocking the door, he handled to start the car's engine.

Bumble Man jumped out of the house through a window, and started shooting his darts at the cops in the backyard, hitting a couple of them, and forcing the rest to keep their distance. He then activated his disguise's flying device, and started elevating.

At the mansion's second floor, Chuck placed Super Hunk in one bed, so he would be comfortable and wait for assistance once he recovered his natural size. Luckily he could hear the cops fighting the villains downstairs, and saw how The Shark was left incapacitated by Tommy, so he expected the criminals would be too busy to chase them. He kept talking to the now tiny hero until a long brown-haired female officer opened the door.

"Officer Boscorelli, it's good to see you!" Chuck recognized Nicole Boscorelli, a cop he had helped once.

"ColoRed Chuck! You shouldn't be here... wait, is that Super Hunk?" Nicole said, noticing the little person at the bed; she had seen Chuck using the Shriktolin before, so it wasn't as surprising as realizing how badly beaten the hero was.

"Yes. Please, keep talking to him." Chuck told the officer. Nicole nodded and leaned next to the bed, realizing how important it was to keep SH awake to prevent brain damage. Chuck stood up, and looked out the window to check the situation, noticing Bumble Man's attempt to escape.

"Oh, no, you don't! Sorry, Nicole, have some work out there!" Chuck directed to the officer while opening the window.

"You'll never catch me again, _buzz_!" Bumble Man mocked the cops while shooting at them with his wax's gun.

"I don't think so, bug-face!" Chuck exclaimed while jumping from the window, landing on Bumble Man's back. However, this disguise was better built than the previous one, so it could stand Chuckie's weight.

"Get down, _buzz_! I don't take passengers, _buzz_!" Bumble Man groaned while struggling with Chuck in the air. At that moment, the wings' mechanism started failing... or more precisely, got overpowered because of one wire that got damaged by Chuck's attack. Both the villain and the hero stopped struggling when hearing the noise, and gulped.

"I don't think this was a good idEEEEEAAAAA...!" Chuck screamed in fear when he and Bumble Man started flying without any control, moving away from the mansion, faster and higher with every passing moment.

Chuck and Bumble Man's erratic flight could be seen at a huge distance. A woman driving a car, almost five blocks away, looked at them, and she and the other people inside the car gasped in surprise.

"Hang on! We're following that bug!" The driver said while changing her direction and speeding in the direction Chuck and Bumble Man seemed to direct.

Meanwhile, the SWAT team arrived at the mansion in the classic dark blue van.

"Who is in charge?" The SWAT leader asked one of the cops who was still in the barricade.

"Sergeant Carmichael, sir, but she and most of our partners had to act before you arrived!" The cop replied.

"Chanfle! Well, then tell me what's the situation!" The leader snapped at the cop.

**CRAAASH!**

The mayor's limo, with Tim driving it, broke the garage's door, and rammed against the SWAT team's van and one patrol. Luckily, nobody got injured, but Tim could escape with no one chasing him, since all the other cops were inside the mansion.

Tim sprinted for almost twelve blocks before daring to slow the vehicle, noticing nobody was behind him. The gangster sighed in relief.

"Okay, at least I'm free. I learned my lesson; next time, I'll look for my revenge without any help." Tim said to himself while thinking about where he would leave the car and steal another one to escape and hide for a time before going back to "business". He then heard a weird buzzing sound.

"What's that noise? Maybe I broke the radiator." Tim thought loudly. A second later, he gasped, noticing Chuck and Bumble Man diving against the car's front.

"This is my stop!" Chuck said to Bumble Man right before releasing him. Chuck fell to the ground, rolling to prevent a serious injury, but getting slightly stunned, while Bumble Man, still dizzy because of the flight, headed against the limo.

"YIKES!" Tim and Bumble Man said in fear at the same time.

**CRUUNCH!**

Bumble Man smashed the car's windshield, and got half of his body inside the vehicle, so Tim couldn't see and lost control of the car.

**CRAASH!**

Chuck shook his head to recover from the hit, and gasped at the scene. The limo stopped when hitting a tree in the sidewalk, just a few yards away from where Chuck landed. The ColoRed Chuck dashed to the car as fast as he could (his right leg was limping) to be sure both criminals were still alive. He looked through the window, and sighed in relief; the villains were badly bruised, but still breathing, so it seemed they just were unconscious.

Chuck sat at the ground, supporting his back on the limo, to rest for a moment. He was happy for being able to help, but now he was also worried because, by going against the law, now he would need to reveal his secret identity; otherwise, he might turn into a wanted criminal. Sure, Super Hunk was the one who summoned him on first place, but, if he was as badly injured as Chuck thought, it'll surely take some time before he could declare his version of the events.

A few minutes later, his antennas started beeping, alerting him about an enemy's presence. This time, however, the warning didn't come from a criminal, but from the approaching police cars. Chuck stood up, and sighed, waiting for the cops. A few moments later, the patrols stopped in front of him, and the SWAT leader got out from one of them before the rest of the officers did the same.

"Both of them are unconscious. I'm sure they'll need to go to the hospital, but I guess they'll be fine." Chuck said while pointing at the wrecked car behind him. One of the cops returned to his patrol to call an ambulance, while the SWAT leader approached the hero.

"You know the law, ColoRed Chuck. You can't be a hero unless you reveal your secret ID to us, right here and now, or I'll need to arrest you as well." The officer said in a stern tone. Chuckie looked down, and made a hard choice.

"Okay. I don't want to disobey the law... and I know you guys are doing your job." Chuckie took a deep breath; he would reveal his secret identity by free will, since, if he denied, the cops would arrest him, and discover his identity anyway.

He knew that it would be really hard to keep going with his civilian life with everyone knowing he was a superhero, plus affecting Kimi, Angie and Dil's jobs, so he'll surely need to quit being the ColoRed Chuck. Besides, most heroes with a public ID are those whose all their loved ones are in the hero business or can take care of themselves (Tommy was an exception, but he only did hero job once in a while), and it wasn't Chuck's case; he might as well dedicate himself to keep an eye on his wife and other loved ones 24/7 to protect them from his enemies' revenge, and, at least, by revealing his identity, he would be free to do it.

"My real name is..."

At that right moment, the same car that followed Chuck and Bumble Man during their flight stopped with a screech a few feet away from the hero and the villain. Chuck gasped; he recognized the car. He washed it every Tuesday.

"Hey, don't even dare arresting him!" Angelica snapped at the cops while walking out from the car.

"Stay out of this, lady. We are attending an official business here." The officer said to the blonde.

"Shut up, bucko! This is our business too!" A second blonde, who Chuck recognized as Helga Pataki, walked down the car. At the same time, Arnold and Ginger did it as well, the reporter holding a video camera and taping everything.

"Eh? What are you guys doing here?" Chuck said, surprised, while dashing to place himself between the officers and his friends.

"We came as part of a group to try convincing the city's mayor to retire the law that avoids you to be a hero here." Ginger informed Chuck, while she and the others moved next to him.

"Yep. It was supposed to be a surprise. I organized the whole thing with some help from Arnold here; everything was planned through e-mails." Angelica told Chuck while placing at his left side.

"That's... very touching, guys, but you shouldn't be here! Tim and Bumble Man are wanted criminals, and these cops are doing their job." Chuck said to them, obviously worried.

"Yes, and now I'm arresting all of you if you keep defending him!" The SWAT guy growled, but, since he recognized Ginger from the TV, he restrained himself and the other cops from doing anything, knowing the consequences of attacking press people.

"Sorry about saying this, but if you try arresting The ColoRed Chuck, or making him to reveal his real identity, you'll need to arrest us anyway! The ColoRed Chuck had helped us a lot in the past, and now we'll help him so he can keep doing his heroic job." Arnold said to the officer, no fear on his voice.

"You, and what army?" The officer said, trying to keep his menacing tone.

At that moment, in a perfect cue, a couple buses arrived at the place, and, the moment they stopped, more than one hundred persons got down from them, surrounding the cops.

"THIS army; you should wash your ears, mister. We already told you we're part of a group. And, if this doesn't impress you, well, the rest will arrive tomorrow." Angelica smirked at the officers, who gasped in surprise while Chuck looked around, recognizing almost everyone, and getting a joyful expression.

"B-but... where did you got all these persons?" One random officer handled to say, sweating cold.

"Hillwood." Doctor Bliss said with a stern look.

"Nicksville." A tall and big nosed guy, Stinky Peterson, said while folding his arms.

"Ocean Shore." Otto Rocket, Twister, Reggie, (the three of them with some bandages on their arms, and, in Twister's case, also his legs, because of their previous burns) and Sam chorused. Several random people replied as well.

"New York."

"Chicago."

"Detroit."

"Los Angeles."

"Las Vegas."

"Dallas."

"Miami."

"Georgia."

"Boston."

While more cities were mentioned, Chuck wide opened his eyes (if that was possible), realizing how many people from so many places he had met during his adventures, and how much they appreciated his help. Angelica placed her hand on his shoulder, smiling at him and nodding. Chuck smiled fondly at her, and turned to see the officer, getting a serious expression.

"Okay, sir, I guess I'll not reveal my identity today. This people trust me to keep doing my job, and I'll make honor to their trust. If, after today's mess' investigations, the court still wants me to reveal my true name, The ColoRed Chuck will keep helping wherever I get summoned, law or not, because aiding people because you care can't be considered a crime." Chuck said to the officer while folding his arms.

The SWAT leader growled under his breath, knowing he wouldn't be able to do a thing against these people, and that attending the unconscious villains was more important at the time being, so he ordered the other cops to leave Chuck and his friends in peace.

"I don't get it; why doing all this for just one guy? Surely, you people had better things to do instead of coming here risking your lives" The officer snapped at the crowd before turning his back to them.

"It's very simple, fool. The guy in red is our friend." Helga replied while pointing at Chuck.

"And one thing about friends is that, if you mess with one..." Arnold added.

"You mess with them all." Angelica finished the phrase, sharing a fast glance with Chuck.


	10. Back In Business

**- Back in Business.**

"According to Everwood Medical Center's medics, Nicholas 'Nick' Dean, better known as Super Hunk, is currently out of danger, yet still recovering from very serious injuries. It's not expected for him to make a full recovery in less than 3 months." Doddie said to the camera, reporting the current state of the city's now forcibly retired hero.

Nick, at his hospital bed, groaned when watching the news, and Betty and Brittney, who were now out of their 'assistant girls' disguises, looked at him in both sadness and concern. As Doddie informed, Nick's injuries were quite severe, even 2 weeks after the beating; his once handsome features were now very deformed, and a few of his teeth were gone; a bandage covered most of his head, and his neck was now wearing an orthopedic one; his left hand was in a cast, the same as his right leg, and his torax was bandaged.

"You want us to turn off the TV?" Betty offered.

"No… I want to finish watching this one." Nick replied, with certain evident pain, as Doddie continued.

"Also, on related news, Mayor Gripling made official the banning of the law that restricted any hero with a secret identity to operate in our city, and after that, offered a public apology to The ColoRed Chuck, apology the hero accepted in private less than 10 minutes later. Besides the obvious reasons, namely The ColoRed Chuck's daring rescue at the Mayor's house, this banning was possible because of the many supporters and thankful persons that arrived to our city on the past days, pressuring Mayor Gripling into allowing the hero to get back in action and not getting arrested for breaking the law to rescue Super Hunk. And… I want to join the many citizens who owe an apology to him; ColoRed Chuck, I'm sorry, as many others, for forgetting about your great heroic deeds and the voluntary, great help you had offered us for so many years."

"Turn it off." Nick sighed and looked down while Brittney did as said. "So… it's over."

"Nick, don't say that." Betty gasped. "I mean, look around. People still trust you as a hero!"

Nick gave a bored look to the many flowers, balloons, and 'Get Well' cards that his fans sent him.

"You still have your powers, and once they heal you, you'll be back to action as the awesome…"

"Brittney, please…" Nick interrupted her. "It's over. I almost died this time… and I had to humiliate myself into calling the very same guy I insulted and got banned from this city; without him, I'd be the most handsome corpse in the morgue. And… now that my weakness got revealed… my, why it couldn't be Kryptonite or some other hard-to-find thing? Any crook can come up with a decent insult on the spot! Two or three harsh phrases, and, again, I'll become as weak as a hamster and get my butt kicked in a spectacular way!"

"Uh… may I come in?"

The trio turned at the door, spotting The ColoRed Chuck. Nick looked away while Betty and Brittney nodded and allowed him in; Betty offered Chuck a seat next to the bed, and then she and Brittney moved a few steps back. Both females couldn't help but watch him in a mix of shame and admiration; they would never thank Chuck enough for rescuing Nick.

"You came to gloat? To mock me?" Nick said, still not looking back at Chuck.

"No; I came to see if you're getting better. Really, you gave us quite the scare. Maybe we aren't friends, but you and I are still superheroes, and we have to support each other."

Even Nick couldn't deny the hero in red actually did sound honestly concerned.

"How you did it?" Nick sighed.

"Did what?"

"Resisting the Fear Toxin; I got lucky enough to avoid breathing it… and yet I got panicked when those guys started breaking me apart… and you got a full shot, and still… resisted it." Nick finally looked back at Chuck. "Why you didn't get affected?"

"Who said I wasn't? I was scared the whole time!" The ColoRed Chuck said, getting surprised looks from Nick and the ladies. "In fact, I get scared practically every time I have to face a dangerous situation; I think that, because of this, I have gained a good level of control over my own fear, so I can still fight and think despite being afraid. In your case… well, you were powerless at that time; anyone would be scared to be fighting several gangsters at once without any mean to defend yourself, and I guess you were so used to not feeling pain for so long that, when feeling it again, it scared you a lot more than normal."

"That's… actually a good point." Nick admitted. "But then, why you risk your life if you get scared every time? It's for the fame?"

"No; I'd rather have 'support' over 'fame' any time. Fame is a short-lived, fragile thing; one day you have a whole stadium cheering your name, and the next one everyone is ignoring or insulting you. Support, on the other hand, is something you gain over time, through your actions, and working very hard to get it; same with respect. I don't do heroic things to get rewarded, but because I have a talent for them, and I'll rather face danger, while being afraid, yet knowing I'm making a difference, than being extremely famous because of things I really did but were exaggerated by media, or not doing anything at all and stay safe at home while knowing I can offer a helping hand to someone who needs it."

Suddenly, The ColoRed Chuck's silly costume didn't seem silly at all.

"I get it now… I did everything just for fame, so I lacked the real impulse behind heroics." Nick looked down again. "No wonder my fall was so soundly."

"Well, maybe you started on this 'business' for the wrong reasons, but you still did a lot of good, and that gained you a fair amount of respect and support." Chuck then looked at the flowers, balloons and cards. "All the people that sent you this, for example, they're grateful persons that are offering their moral support, and I'm sure some of them wouldn't mind giving you personal support if necessary. I mean, before I arrived, you actually saved most of the hostages."

"Yes… I did it, isn't it? One of my best rescues ever." Nick got a very little yet honest smile.

"And how about Betty and Brittney? They both love and respect you no matter if you're using the disguise or not. Trust me, having one or two people giving you that kind of support can give you more strength than a million persons chanting your name." Chuck smiled back.

"He's right, you know?" Nick then turned at Betty, who was giving him a fond smile. "You had been a great friend, lover and hero for the both of us for many years."

"And thanks to you, we actually have a purpose in life; being a hero's back-up." Brittney joined her friend. "And you had given us so much excitement… so many good experiences we wouldn't live any other way…"

"We love you, Nick." Both girls chorused.

"Aw, Babes… I love you two as well." Nick then motioned them to get closer and the trio got into a nice embrace.

"So, are you feeling better now?" The ColoRed Chuck got a sly grin.

"Yes, I do." Nick paused. "In fact… I feel great!"

Nick surprised everyone when he sat on his bed without any pain or effort; he even tried to stand up, and actually did it without problems for a few moments before he had to sit back again.

"Hey, take it easy, SH. You can't expect to run a marathon right away." Chuck chuckled as he and the ladies helped Nick sit down.

"How I did that? I'd been in pain for several days and…"

"Obviously, it's because of your powers." Everyone turned back at the door, looking at a smirking James 'Jimmy' Neutron. "Your aura received enough positive estimulation to low your pain and, at least temporarily, give you some super strength back. It's possible that, with enough of this 'cheering up', you'll get healed a lot faster."

"James, I…" Nick then looked back and forth between Jimmy and Chuck. "You two planned this, right?"

"Jimmy and I discussed your condition, he told me how your powers work, and I thought that, from one hero to another one, I was the best option to cheer you up a bit and see if Jimmy's theory was accurate enough." The ColoRed Chuck replied. "And I have my own theory; the feeling you have right now, if you learn to conserve it all the time, by remembering the people that loves and supports you no matter what…"

"Then… I might be able to resist insults and mockery, and eliminate my weakness!" Nick gasped. "I can be Super Hunk again!"

"Yep; and you know, this city has enough work for more than one hero; since I went back in action, well, I've attended more than 50 calls for help; robberies, assaults, super thieves, people who need advice… and not all those calls are here at Everwood. Since Okie Dokie Jones isn't a full-time hero, and I spend some time at other cities, it would be good to have someone here 24/7."

"You mean it?" Nick was more and more surprised with every moment The ColoRed Chuck was there.

"Hey, when you first arrived here, I told you I had no authority or wishes to kick you out of town, and I still mean it." Chuck shrugged. Betty and Brittney gave him a good embrace before doing the same with Jimmy, and then they left the room to call a doctor to check up Nick's current state.

"Thanks, CC… you really deserve that big heart as a symbol." Nick shook hands with the geeky hero.

"You're welcome. Well, guess you two have some stuff to discuss, so I'm leaving now." The hero in red stood up, shook hands with Jimmy and left the room.

* * *

At Angelica and Chuckie's home, the blonde woman fell to the gym's mat, rubbing her head a moment later. Luckily, she was wearing protective gear.

"That kick was for the almost-knock-out last week, right?" Angelica got Kimi's help to stand up. Both women were using boxing gloves and head gear; Angelica was wearing a white top, black shorts and red boots, and Kimi was wearing a blue top, white shorts and black sneakers.

"Hey, if you want me to stop hitting you this hard, you stop doing it with me." Kimi grinned. "Seriously, you must be the fastest learning fighting student I've ever taught."

Since both Angelica and Kimi got kidnapped by several of Chuckie's main enemies around a year ago, the villains knowing there was some sort of bond/link between them (even if they thought it was just a police-hero friendship and a grateful victim supporting a hero thing), Angelica asked Kimi for some self-defense lessons, since the Japanese girl was the police force's undefeated champion, practically moping the mat with all her opponents in karate, boxing and wrestling matches no matter how big, strong or experienced the other guy/girl was. However, even Kimi had to admit she was no longer 'undefeated' because of her best student; Angelica was progressed so much in her lessons that now she could fight on Kimi's level, and at times their 'sparring matches' were more intense than professional ones. Kimi still had a bit of an edge in karate and mixed martial arts, because of her agility and great kicking techniques, but Angelica was now the dominating one in boxing and wrestling, because of her slightly better reach and superior physical strength.

"Heh, yeah, and Susie can tell it too. Seriously, Kimi, I don't know why you sent her to spar with me last month. I almost left her teethless." Angelica joked as they both took a break and removed their gloves.

"I thought she could do it well because I've seen her fighting, and I've sparred with her, and she's good… then again, maybe I should have warned her about how you take the sparring too seriously." Kimi chuckled while cleaning her sweat with a towel and Angelica handled her a bottle of water. "Now, changing topics… how had Chuckie been since he got back into the crime-fighting business?"

"Heh, he had been quite busy." Angelica sighed. "Still, he got enough time to personally thank all the persons that came to support him before they finally left."

"That still impresses me. I mean, I know you don't like him risking life and limb on a regular basis, and yet you helped him get back to heroics."

"Yeah, I know… it's weird… helping someone you love risk his life." Angelica smiled at Kimi. "But that's exactly why I did it; I love him, and that means I care about his happiness as much as he cares about mine. And I know his happiness doesn't come just from caring about me, but from caring about others; that's his super power, his gift, and what makes him a complete man. I know I can cover that void in his life by being extra-affective with him, and I wouldn't mind, but he would never feel entirely happy if not being able to use his gift to help others, just like he has done with me more than once. And I owe this to him; the boy… the man… the hero that made me a complete person."

Kimi smiled at her in-law, remembering again why she had such great respect for the blonde despite her flaws; sure, Angelica was vain and egotistical, but Chuckie's love kept those defects on tolerable levels, and he brought the best out of her.

"Well, enough of this… heh, even I know I'm getting too corny." Angelica chuckled and then got a sly smirk. "How about, we have another round, and this time we make it a just boxing one?"

"I have no choice, right?" Kimi sighed yet nodded. When it came to this fighting style, she could still give Angelica a good match, but 9 of 10 times, the blonde got the upper hand. The females put back their gloves and returned to the mat.

Angelica and Kimi adopted their fighting positions, and started circling each other. The females drew back their right fists...

**RIIIING!**

"Saved by the bell." Kimi sighed in relief and dropped her stance. Angelica grinned and went to the phone.

"You hadn't escaped this one yet, Kimster." Angelica removed her gloves and answered the phone. "Hello? Finsters-Pickles Arena here; wanna buy tickets for Kimster vs Angel, The Match of the Century?"

Kimi rolled her eyes yet grinned.

"Aha… yeah… oh, good, he's better … okay, just give us a minute. See you." Angelica ended the call and got her mischievous smirk. "It was Chuckie; we need to summon him back home; and since the best way to do it is for one of us to pretend to be in serious need... "

"Oh, no… no, Angelica, wait…" Kimi tried to escape but her sis-in-law was faster and got her in a painful wrestling hold, twisting Kimi's arms behind her back. "OUCH! Why I had to teach you this move?"

"Because you're a good teacher, I'm a terrific student, and you love your sis-in-law." Angelica replied. "Now, you know what to do."

"Oh.. and now… who will rescue me?" Kimi groaned.

"I!" The ColoRed Chuck appeared behind them. "Heh, Angelica, can you stop hurting my baby sister?"

"Okay; I'll stop my evil deeds. Wow, you convinced me immediately; you're good, Hero." Angelica laughed, released Kimi, and then kissed her husband lovingly.

"You know, Angelica, one of these days I'm going to make us fight without the head gear, and then we'll see how good you really are." Kimi frowned.

"Oh, you want a piece of me, Super Cop?" Angelica stopped kissing Chuckie and smirked at Kimi in a challenging way.

"Girls, girls, girls…" Chuckie stood in the middle of his two loved ladies. "You remember the first thing I asked the both of you before starting this training?"

"No fighting without gloves and gear so you don't worry about us getting hurt." Angelica and Kimi, sighing, chorused.

"And also, because it's the only way I can catch the two of you wearing gloves without a matching purse." Chuckie joked and received a good-natured doble elbowing to his guts. "Ow! Treat the hero with care."

"We'll consider it later." Kimi grinned before removing her gear and putting it on her gym bag. "I have to leave now anyway."

"Still, you owe me a rematch, Kimi." Angelica smirked at her.

"Oh, you already got your rematch; remember the wrestling hold?"

"That was no fight; that was our way to bring Chuckie back home."

"Fine; let's say it doesn't count." Kimi frowned.

"Okay then; and, according to the same rules we both made, that means now I have full right to choose the next style and now many rounds we'll fight. Mmm… I think 5 boxing rounds would be okay."

Kimi gasped and then looked at Chuckie for support.

"I'll try to convince her, but no promises." Chuckie shrugged.

"I'm so going to regret this." Kimi sighed yet smiled and touched fists with Angelica. "See you in one week."

Kimi and Chuckie then hugged and she left the house.

"So, Super Hunk will be back in action, uh?" Angelica asked her husband.

"Yep; if he can use his powers to accelerate the healing process, he might be okay in a month or less."

"Cool; then, my mom can actually use her idea of selling both your toy and his as a package. It will be a Christmas hit." Angelica chuckled.

"Just 29.95; call now." Chuckie joked and then he kisses her again. "Nick is finally learning the lesson I received a long time ago; fame doesn't mean a thing when you have someone worth fighting for supporting you. Thanks for always being here for me."

"Anything for my hero." Angelica smiled and then smirked. "You know, about Kimi and I sparring, maybe I wouldn't be that rough with her if I had another sparring partner."

"Angelica, you know I'd rather quit being a hero forever before punching you." Chuckie reminded her.

"Who said anything about fighting?"

Chuckie chuckled and grinned at the idea. Then, Angelica surprised him with a leg sweep that took him down to the mat, and then she pounced on him.

"Round One!"

"You take advantage on my nobleness, you know that?" Chuckie said in an angry tone.

Obviously, a fake one.

**The End.**

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And that's it! (I still wonder why you always cut my best scenes with Finster) Censorship, Angelica, censorship (Oh, right).

Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing this story. (And, as a second disclaimer, as you people noticed, Acosta here had loads of guest stars and references from several series and comic books, including heroes from both DC and Marvel Comics, and other Nickelodeon shows like _Jimmy Neutron, Hey, Arnold!, As Told By Ginger, Rocket Power, Danny Phantom_ and _My Life as a Teenage Robot._ He doesn't own any of those).

Thank you, Angelica, and now, is time to go.

(Thanks again, and Keep the good writing.)


	11. Bloopers!

-**Bloopers!**

Angelica and Chuckie appear sitting on a theater's booth, holding hands. She is dressed on her intellectual-like look, with fake glasses, her hair in a bun, and a dark pink business suit, while he is using a formal black outfit.

"Hello everybody, and welcome to the bloopers' section of the Colored Chuck's story, _A New Hero in Town_. I'm Angelica Pickles-Finster, and, next to me, Chuckie Finster." Angelica says in a reporter-like tone, directing to the readers.

"Thanks, Angie, and yes, you read right. Angelica and I got married right before the making of this story." Chuckie says to the readers and then he and Angelica give each other a fond look, while showing their rings.

"What can I say? I can't resist this guy, no matter how much I tried." Angelica chuckles, and then returns to the business at hand. "Anyway, as you can imagine, when making a story like this, with so many guest stars and action scenes, some accidents happen."

"And I must tell you, we worked a lot to try preventing them. However, well… you'll better take a look by yourselves." Chuckie says, and, after passing his arm over Angelica's shoulders, directs to someone unseen. "Roll it!"

Then, a movie reel passes rolling in front of the couple. Angelica and Chuckie slap their own foreheads, and she talks to the person who made the joke, in a slightly upset tone.

"Very funny, Phil. Now, please, do your job, okay?"

**BLOOPERS!**

**X-X-X-X**

On a single movement, Chuck made Bumble Man to drop both guns. The criminal reacted by grabbing the mallet, so he and Chuck started struggling for the weapon's control.

"Hey, Bumble Man, time without seeing you; you still have that speech impediment?" Chuck asked the villain when they were face to face.

"Yes, _buzz_. You still have the silly costume and can't say correctly a proverb?" The villain snapped back. Chuck smirked.

"Yes... but at least I don't need to use a weapon to fight all the time." Chuck said while releasing his grip on the mallet. This was so sudden it caught the villain by surprise, and, before he could use the mallet, Chuck punched him on the chin, making Bumble man to fall on his back and drop the weapon. Chuckie, compared to most superheroes, wasn't very strong, but that didn't mean he couldn't give a good hit or two when needed, and, against this particular villain, he knew he had the edge in hand-to-hand fighting.

"And who are you to say my disguise is silly, uh?" The ColoRed Chuck said while advancing to finish the fight… and noticed Bumble Man wasn't moving.

"Uh… Bumble Man? You're supposed to defend yourself. Hello?" Chuckie whispered to the villain, who kept unconscious.

"CUT!" Tommy Pickles, in his director's outfit, approached the stage alongside some crew members, and checked Bumble Man, who slowly regained conscience again.

"Chuckie, you were supposed to hit him softly." Tommy said to his friend.

"I hit him softly! That's why I used my right fist instead of the left one." Chuckie commented. Tommy, not believing him, walked next to his friend, and touched his right arm, getting a surprised expression.

"Had you been working out?"

"Hey, I had been doing this role for a while now, remember? Of course I had been working out! Weight lifting, gymnastics, karate, boxing…"

"Uh… okay. Let's repeat the scene… and be more careful, okay?" Tommy said to Chuckie while walking back to his position.

"_Good thing he isn't my enemy!" _Tommy thought.

* * *

She started looking for Chuckie, and when couldn't find him in the kitchen, living room, or gym (despite not being as muscular as other heroes, Chuckie trained at least an hour everyday to keep himself in top shape), she walked upstairs, and then heard Chuck talking to someone on their bedroom. Angelica opened the door slightly to see who was with him; she couldn't help but smile a little when noticing Chuck on his civilian clothes talking with Fluffy, her Persian cat, while brushing her fur.

"I tell you, Fluffy, if that guy wasn't a superhero, and one with super-strength, no less, I would have done something really drastic... but there are several reasons that stopped me. Wanna hear them?" Chuck asked the feline. Fluffy yawned in boredom… and then gave Chuck a sharp scratch on his legs before jumping away.

"A simple _No_ would be enough!" Chuckie complained while rubbing his legs and Angelica entered to check him and have a few words with her cat.

"CUT!"

* * *

"Don't worry, my wild brothers and sisters! I'll release you from your prison in a moment!" A thin guy with nerdy glasses and a bowl hairdo, wearing black shirt, pants, and boots, with his face painted to mimic a tiger's fur, talked to the birds inside a cage in Hillwood Zoo, while trying to open the cage's lock, as he had done with several others that night.

"Curly, stop! This is dangerous!" A brunette woman, apparently on her forties, wearing a blue dress, appeared behind the guy, trying to make him reason.

"Nonsense, Doctor Bliss! I'm releasing my wild siblings so they can enjoy the sweet gift of freedom!" Curly replied, turning to face the woman.

At that moment, the gate opened, and all the birds flew away.

"CUT! Someone catch those birds!" Tommy yelled while Arnold entered the stage and ran next to an embarrassed Curly.

"Curly, you only had to pretend opening the cage!"

"Oops."

* * *

"And, unfortunately, is very hard to fight back his arguments because they're usually partly true. I mean, I'm not like Chuckie, whose became a hero for his own choice; I'm just an archeologist and a documentary film maker who, by several circumstances, had ended playing a heroic role." Tommy admitted.

"But you are as much as a hero as me, or even more, Tommy. I think we'll better start ignoring whatever Super Hunk tells us, or we'll develop a complex or something. As the old and known proverb says; to silly words, doesn't bite." Chuck said in his expert tone. Angelica and Tommy rolled their eyes, knowing what will happen next.

"No, no, wait... a barking dog, deaf ears." Chuck corrected himself. He then slapped his forehead, realizing his mistake, and tried to correct it.

"No, that's wrong... if you are deaf, and a dog barks, you surely aren't going to hear it... and you don't hear silly words as well... actually, if you're deaf, you'll not hear anything... so, if someone asks you to go get a bite, you'll not hear the invitation... and I CAN'T REMEMBER THE REST OF THIS RAMBLING!" Chuckie groaned in annoyance while slapping his own forehead, making Tommy and Angelica to laugh.

* * *

"Relax, I'm fine. Okay, now I'll get down the ball. Let's see if I can hit it with my Skweaky Lumper." Chuck said while taking out his mallet. The hero aimed at the ball, and threw his weapon, but, unfortunately, it got stuck as well. Chuck groaned and slapped his forehead.

"Guess I'll need to do it the hard way. Stand back." Chuck told the children, and started climbing the tree. After a minute or so, he directed to the kids, who were a couple of feet away from the tree.

"A ball, going down!" Chuck yelled, while dropping the ball. Bernadette caught it without problems.

"A mallet, going down!" Chuck said next. A moment later, his mallet fell from the tree. Spencer caught it; since the mallet wasn't so heavy, it was easy for the boy.

"Yours truly... GOOOIIING DOOOOOWN!" Chuck yelled in fear while falling from the tree.

CRASH!

"Oh, my...! Are you okay?" Bernadette asked Chuck while she and Spencer ran next to the hero, who luckily had landed in a bush next to the tree, softening his fall. Then, the girl covered her eyes, and Spencer started laughing, alongside the whole filming crew.

"What's going on?" Chuckie asked, and then Spencer pointed to the tree's branches. Chuckie lifted his head, and gasped, noticing his shorts were stuck on one branch.

"Now I know how Ron Stoppable feels." Chuckie said with a nervous grin.

* * *

"It's nice to feel appreciated. Well, that will do it." Angelica said while finishing the massage with a playful slapping on Chuck's back. "I don't know what's more amazing; how easily you bruise, or how fast you recover." She commented while sitting next to him.

"Well, since I receive so many hits regularly, my body developed a good healing factor. Of course, some external help is always welcome; right after I fell on the pool, the guys at Ocean Shore attended me before I called you to summon me back. And you are a wonderful nurse." Chuck told her, smiling.

"Someone is feeling better, uh?" Angelica smirked, and then leaned to kiss him; Chuck kissed and hugged the blonde back.

"Ehem! Ehem! Sorry to interrupt, guys."

Chuck and Angie ignored the coughing sound, and kept kissing and hugging.

"Ehem! Guys?" Danny Phantom insisted, sounding a little louder, but now the couple was getting a little more passionate, so kept ignoring him.

"GUYS! I have to use the Ghostly Wail, or what?" Danny said, slightly upset and blushing a little at the scene in front of him.

"CUT!" Tommy approached the stage, and yanked Danny away. "Sorry, Danny; this is my whole fault. I knew it was risky to have them doing this scene with them just marrying just a few weeks ago." Tommy sighed.

"Okay, people, we'll have a fifteen minutes' recess." Tommy said to the crew, but then Danny tapped his shoulder, making Tommy to look back at the couple. The director gulped, and his face became beet-red.

"Make it an hour's recess!" Tommy exclaimed while he and Danny, alongside the rest of the crew, dashed away from the now M-rated scene.

* * *

"Neutron, you have a serious ego problem. You can't stand the fact I got the great super powers you wanted for yourself, and want to get rid of them, right? Of course, I can't blame you. Who wouldn't like to be like me? I'm so glorious, I know... so handsome, look well... I'm gorgeous, gallant, stunning, I'm precious! I'm so divine... so exquisite... I'm cool, fine, strong, and also modest." Nick said, almost singing, while returning to see his reflex.

Then, a loud music was heard, and Nick, recognizing the tune, started dancing and singing in front of a confused Jimmy.

_I'm…_

_Too sexy for my shirt…_

_Too sexy for my shirt…_

"CUT!" Tommy yelled, and then directed to Betty and Brittney, who were behind Jimmy holding a boom box and laughing.

"Very funny, girls!"

* * *

"Never imagined my uncles had another basement." Angelica said, surprised.

"It was built just a few years ago, Angie. Actually, the basement is composed by three levels. The first one, where we saw your uncle, is where he usually works. This one, the second, is where he and Dil test their inventions; it has the thickest walls, and nothing around that might get burned. The final one, where we are going, is Dil's working station, where he works almost all the time (except when he is helping his dad with something), designing toys and video games, and preparing the stuff I need as The ColoRed Chuck." Chuckie explained his wife while reaching the second level; as he said, it was mostly empty, except for a few crates and broken pieces of machinery.

The couple reached the third level. Unlike the other two, this one had a thick steel door at the end of the stairway, with a keyboard and a safety camera on it. Chuckie pressed some keys, introducing a password, and then the door opened.

"BEWARE!"

"YIKES!" Angelica and Chuckie gasped and jumped back in fear when a short blue-colored ghost, dressed with worker's clothing, appeared from behind the door.

"I'M THE BOX GHOST!"

"CUT!" Tommy entered the stage, groaning. "Danny!"

Danny Phantom made himself visible right behind the Box Ghost, and gave him a high five, with Tommy, Chuckie, and Angelica glaring at him.

"Sorry guys, but I couldn't resist!" Danny said, chuckling.

"Yes, and I wanted to appear in the fic… I'M THE BOX GHOST!" The chubby ghost repeated his trademark phrase. Then, his laughter and Danny's was cut by a growling voice behind them. The ghosts turned to see a red-outfitted Afro-American girl aiming at them with an ecto-blaster.

"That's why Tommy hired me for security, ghosts!" Valerie Gray said right before shooting at Danny and the Box Ghost's rears. The specters yelped in fear and pain, and dashed away, while Chuckie and Angelica laughed, and Tommy gave Valerie a high-five.

* * *

The scene changed, and now Chuckie was wearing a 30's-style jacket, cape, mask (with the glasses under it) and pants, all in different shades of purple; the outfit was complete by a gray fedora and a blue turtleneck. Chuckie was reading something from a piece of paper.

"Dil, this character is a little too arrogant for my taste... and, actually, this introduction is kind of scary. I want to be respected by criminals, but also make the regular people to trust me." Chuckie told Dil, who was right in front of him.

"Believe me, pal, this ID will be great. Just read that introduction in the most dramatic tone you can." Dil told him. Chuck decided to give it a try, and started reading the introduction like Dil said.

"I'm the Terror that Flaps in the Night! I'm the Pain in the Neck of Crime! I, am... DARKWIIIIIING CHUCK!" Chuck ended the introduction with a dramatic heroic pose. Dil smiled widely.

"And now, meet your sidekick… Harold-Pad McQuack!" Dil said, and, a moment later, Harold jumped from behind him, using a brown sweater, ancient pilot-style pants, a pilot helmet, a white scarf, and brown boots.

"I'm ready, DW!" Harold said in a heroic tone. Chuckie laughed, and followed the joke.

"Fine, HP! Let's get dangerous!" And he and Harold made a heroic pose for the cameras.

"Oh, please… CUT!"

* * *

The scene changed again. Now Chuckie was wearing a green jumpsuit, red mask (still, with the glasses under it), and dark blue gloves, belt, and boots... and, from the top of his head to the end of his back, he had some fake fur mimicking a skunk's, tail and all.

"I don't know who is crazier, Dil; you, for inventing this stuff, or me for using it." Chuck said to Dil, rolling his eyes. The inventor ignored his voice's tone, and placed a hand on Chuck's shoulders.

"Hey, you want to be both respected and trusted, right? Well, no creature is as respected by predators as a skunk, and it's also a funny looking animal, so it fits well for the job's description. I think The Skunk Man is perfect for you." Dil told him. Chuck shook his head.

"_Le_ hunk skunk!"

Chuckie and Dil turned back, surprised by a French-accented female voice. Before they could react, a cute toon purple-furred skunk girl, with a pink bow on her head, dashed on stage, and pounced on Chuckie, wrapping his shoulders with her long tail, and hugging his head.

"Oh, you're so cute! And big!" Fifi La Fume started kissing Chuckie's cheeks and forehead. Dil tried to grab her, as well as several crew members, but her stench kept them away. Finally, Chuckie could remove the top of his disguise, revealing his human head.

"Miss La Fume, calm down! I'm a human, you see? HUMAN!" Chuckie said, making the skunkette to give him a second look, and gasp in surprise.

"And he is taken, Fuzzy Face!" A very pissed Angelica, using a gas mask, entered the stage, and grabbed Fifi by her collar.

"_Moi_ am so sorry! _Moi_ normally can conzrol myself, but it's hard with such a big and handsome skunk!" Fifi said to Angelica while she carried her out of the stage.

"CUT! Deodorize the set so we can continue!" Tommy voice was heard off-screen.

* * *

Angelica was already there, alongside Chuckie's parents, Dil and Tommy; they placed themselves among the other persons supporting The ColoRed Chuck. Sadly, their number was minimal compared with the SH's supporters.

"This doesn't look good." Chaz Finster commented, noticing the majority of people were supporting Super Hunk.

"I really feel like saying a few things to that guy." Kira said, with a very upset tone. Tommy directed to her.

"Keep your breath, Kira. That guy doesn't deserve people pointing at you for saying bad words." Tommy said.

"Yeah. Tell them to me, and I'll yell them to the jerk." Dil grinned while showing a megaphone to his friends. At that moment, a well known afro-American officer directed to the group.

"You'll better not, Dil. I would hate to arrest any of you for defending The ColoRed Chuck." Sgt Susie Carmichael said to her friends. She knew about Chuckie's secret ID, and, like them, had to be careful with her words with so many people around.

"CUT!" Tommy interrupted the scene.

"What? But nobody made any mistake, Tommy!" Susie said, confused, now noticing everybody was looking at her.

"Susie… those pants aren't a little too big for you?" Dil commented. Susie looked down, and gasped, noticing the pants were about 5 sizes bigger than her usual ones, and only her belt was preventing them to fall.

"Uh… oops… these are Harold's pants… sorry!" Susie said nervously, and then ran backstage.

"Those two… since they married, are worse than me and Finster." Angelica rolled her eyes.

"Hey, at least we do our stuff behind the cameras, Pickles!" Susie's voice was heard off-screen, making Angelica to blush.

* * *

"Oh... and now... who will help MEEEEEE...!" Savannah said right when her fingers couldn't hold her any more, causing her to fall... until a hand grabbed her wrist.

"I!" The ColoRed Chuck said, clenching his teeth while doing an effort to not letting Sneaky fall. He was located on the rooftop, chest down, to support the woman's weight without falling himself.

"The ColoRed Chuck!" Savannah smiled in relief. She never imagined she would be so grateful for seeing him.

"Didn't count... with my... oh, you already know the introduction!... Quick, use my body to climb to the... rooftop!" Chuck said, sweating because of the effort.

"I can't... my chest hurts a lot... and I can't use my other arm!" Savannah replied with a pained voice.

"Then try breaking the... window next to you...to get... into the building! Hurry! You're too heavy!" Chuck told her.

"Are you calling me fat?" Savannah replied, offended.

"NOW!" Chuck snapped at her. Savannah nodded, and, despite the pain, she could balance her body to get enough support and break the window with a good kick… but the window didn't break.

"What the… YIKES!" Savannah fell when Chuckie couldn't hold her any longer. Luckily, she fell on a safety net.

"CUT!" Tommy yelled. "Savannah, the breakable window is the one at your left, not the one at your right!"

* * *

"Angie... the website... it was your idea, right?" Chuckie asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course it was. Super Hunk used the media to gain people's support, so, since I'm a genius, I thought that would help you as well. Besides creating the site, I had talked with many of Merge Corp's contacts in the whole media environment, and both Susie and Kimi are sharing information about you with them to help with the research. Hadn't told you before because I wanted to see the results first. I must say, it had been amazing to read what some of the people who visit the site had written about you. I knew you have done some great things, but is great to read them from the people's POV." Angelica explained. Chuckie hugged her tightly, and Angelica returned the embrace.

"Thanks." Chuckie whispered on her ear.

"For better or worse, until death do us part, remember? Someone has to take care of you, Finster." Angelica replied, and then they kissed tenderly for a few minutes.

"Ummm… Chuckie, it's your Skweaky Lumper, or you are just happy to see me?" Angelica said in a flirty voice without breaking the embrace. Chuckie blushed, and returned to kiss her.

"CUT!" Tommy entered the stage. "Oh, please, guys, don't tell you're gonna try changing the story's rating every time you kiss!"

"Relax, Tommy, I'm just playing." Angelica replied with a playful smirk.

"Yes, we learned our lesson, and, to avoid the temptation, we already did our married couple's stuff before coming to the set." Chuckie continued, making Tommy to arch an eyebrow.

"So… I can count on you guys to behave yourselves?"

"Of course, I mean, we aren't lust machines! Three hours is more than enough for us." Angelica shrugged. Tommy made a double take, and started walking back to his place.

"Note to myself… ask Chuckie what kind of vitamins he is taking!" Tommy thought out-loud.

* * *

"Oh well, the blue guy is, for once, right. Nothing personal, Chuck, but I have to do my job." Shego said in a calm tone while cracking her knuckles and doing stretching exercises in front of Chuck. He started doing the same.

"Yes, I know. But can we do it the special way we used to?" Chuck asked. Shego arched an eyebrow.

"In public? I have a reputation, you know." Shego replied.

"Green, pleeeeease? For old times' sake?" Chuck said in his kindest tone. Shego rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe I'm going to do it. Okay, let's finish this." Shego said while clenching her fists. Chuck did the same, and they stood in front of each other, in boxing positions.

"Oh, this is gonna be interesting." Drakken grinned evilly.

Shego and Chuck drew back a fist and started counting at the same time.

"One... two... three!" They said while quickly moving one fist in front of the other's.

WHACK!

"OUCH!" Shego and Chuck shook their hands in pain after their fists collided.

"CUT!" Tommy walked on stage. "Shego, you have to move one half-feet more away from Chuckie. Are you two guys okay?"

"Yes, don't worry. I'm used to these accidents when working." Shego commented while she and Chuckie checked their hands.

* * *

"Okay, Rufus, you heard the guy with antennas. Do your job, buddy!" Ron told the rodent. Rufus nodded, and then Ron threw him against the switch. Rufus made an acrobat-like movement, and landed safely on the lever; his weight did the rest, and, a moment later, the lights went off. The only thing visible was the glowing from Shego's hands, moving quickly because of her battle with Kim.

"Booyah!" Ron excited voice was heard, alongside plenty of yelling and hitting sounds. Drakken, despite the darkness, kept barking orders.

"Get them, you fools! Keep fighting... ouch! My foot! Somebody turn on the lights! SHEGO!" Drakken yelled in frustration.

"I have... UFF!... my own problems... _–groan-..._ here!" Shego replied while fighting Kim. The females knew each other's moves so well they would surely be able to fight even sleepwalking.

Drakken groaned, and started walking through the room, trying to find the switch, while the battle continued.

WHACK! CLANG! CRASH! OUCH! THUD! PUNCH! WHAM! ZAS! CRACK! BIFF! POW! ZOWIE! CRUNCH! JAB! KICK! PUNT!...

"Step aside... move on... evil genius walking... OUCH! I don't know who hit me, but if it was one of my henchmen, he's not getting Christmas bonus this year!... there... ARGH! Who placed a chair here? Can't believe it... I'm a genius, and didn't think about carrying a light!... Yuck! I don't know what I stepped on, but I swear it was moving! Okay, I think the switch is... HERE!" Drakken exclaimed in triumph, and turned on the lights, grinning.

"Now, get those fools, and finish... them..." Drakken got a shocked expression.

"SURPRISE!" The whole crew from _A New Hero in Town_, as well as the _Kim Possible_'s cast, surrounded Drakken, all of them wearing party hats. Shego and Kim were in front of the group, holding a large birthday cake.

"Happy Birthday, Doctor D!" Shego smiled at her stage partner, who got a huge grin and washed a single tear from his right eye.

"Oh, you guys remembered!"

* * *

"And, how? He has super strength, and maybe other powers. The only one of us who is close to having those advantages is Bumble Man, and that's only when he uses his suit." Jean Claude said. Bumble Man wanted to reply, but even he had to recognize he wasn't so powerful without his disguise and gadgets. The four criminals knew they would need something special to fight Super Hunk; they were more than suited to fight the cops, or The ColoRed Chuck, but not a powerhouse..

At that moment, a little dart flew through Sean and Tim's cell's window, hitting…

"YEOOOUCH!"

… Tim's rear.

"CUT! Shark, work on your aiming, okay?"

* * *

"Snakes?" Susie repeated, puzzled. Harold gave the man a long look, and gasped.

"Of course! The panic state, hallucinations, the drug used at the prison... Susie, this guy was infected with The Scarecrow's toxin!" Harold told his girlfriend.

"A toxin called _Scarecrow_?" Susie replied, confused.

"No, a toxin created by The Scarecrow, a super villain from Gotham City. You know I like to read a lot about heroes and their stunts, and I remember an article from a magazine I read some time ago concerning this particular toxin. It makes the victims to experiment their worst fears; some of them even get traumatized for life, unless you give them an antidote on time. And forget about gas masks; that stuff can also get absorbed through the skin." Harold informed Susie. Then, he got a playful smirk, and, before Susie could say another word, he got an expert-like tone.

"The Scarecrow's real name is Jonathan Crane, who used to be a psychologist. He is one of Batman's enemies, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, who debuted in _World's Finest Comics _number 3, Fall 1941…"

"CUT!" Tommy interrupted Harold's speech, while Susie and the other guys around him chuckled. "Harold, just say your lines and let Susie say hers, okay?"

"Hey, you can get the geek away from the comics, but not the comics out from the geek." Harold shrugged, getting a little kiss from Susie after that.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Retroville, a beautiful green-eyed blond young woman, wearing a green blouse and brown pants, approached an apparently ordinary club house, the kind kids build with planks they find here and there, located in a backyard. However, this house had a DNA analyzer and a speaker on the door. The blonde pushed a button on the speaker, and talked to it.

"Hey, Nerdtron, it's me. Let me in!" The blonde said, and, a couple of seconds later, a trap door opened under her feet, making her to fall. Fortunately, she landed in a mattress…

FAAAART!

Cindy got a nervous expression, while Jimmy and the whole crew started laughing. The blonde then lifted the mattress, finding a whoopie cushion and a microphone.

"Phil DeVille, you're dead meat!" Cindy yelled in anger. Phil, hidden behind one cameraman, gulped.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Actually, I didn't… until now that you confessed." Cindy replied with an evil smirk, and cracked her knuckles a second before darting against Phil.

"AAAH! Lil! Kimi! HELP!"

* * *

"Jennifer Wakeman. Global Response Unit XJ-9. You are all under arrest." The girl said in an authoritarian tone. The prisoners gasped, and started shooting at her, but the bullets did as much damage as paper balls.

"Stand back, tin can girl, or the hostages are done!" One of the criminals yelled while aiming at the people inside the cells. Jennifer replied by transforming one of her hands into a magnet and aiming it at the criminals; one moment later, all the small sized metallic objects around her, including the guns and some dental fillings, were attracted by the magnet, leaving the criminals unarmed…

And then started attracting the belts, microphones, cameras, watches, various props…

"CUT!" Tommy yelled. "Jennie, put down the potency a little bit, can you?"

* * *

"Yes. Please, keep talking to him." Chuck told the officer. Nicole nodded and leaned next to the bed, realizing how important it was to keep SH awake to prevent brain damage. Chuck stood up, and looked out the window to check the situation, noticing Bumble Man's attempt to escape.

"Oh, no, you don't! Sorry, Nicole, have some work out there!" Chuck directed to the officer while opening the window.

"You'll never catch me again, _buzz_!" Bumble Man mocked the cops while shooting at them with his wax's gun.

"I don't think so, bug-face!" Chuck exclaimed while jumping from the window, landing on Bumble Man's back. However, this disguise was better built than the previous one, so it could stand Chuckie's weight.

"Get down, _buzz_! I don't take passengers, _buzz_!" Bumble Man groaned while struggling with Chuck in the air. At that moment, the wings' mechanism started failing... or more precisely, got overpowered because of one wire that got damaged by Chuck's attack. Both the villain and the hero stopped struggling when hearing the noise, and gulped.

CRAASH!

"CUT!" Tommy and the rest of the crew ran next to Chuckie and Bumble Man, who had crashed instead of flying.

"Are you guys okay?"

"I want to thank the Academy…" Chuckie said, dizzy.

"I see a light… it's calling me…" And even dizzier Bumble Man replied.

* * *

Angelica and Kimi adopted their fighting positions, and started circling each other. The females drew back their right fists...

**RIIIING!**

**WHAM! WHAM!**

"CUT!" Tommy exclaimed while he and Chuckie ran to the stage to check Angelica and Kimi, who hit each other when hearing the phone's bell.

"What's wrong with you two?" Tommy asked to the females. Angelica, rubbing her chin, replied.

"It's because of the training we did for the story, Tommy. Kimi and I heard the bell, and took it as the cue to start fighting. Kimi, are you okay?"

Kimi, slightly groggy, shook her head to recover.

"Yeah, I think so. Don't worry; we'll not get confused again." Kimi said. Chuckie and Tommy sighed in relief, and went back to their places.

"Hey, Angelica, after the filming, you want to have a friendly match for real?" Kimi asked her sister-in-law.

"Sure, why not?" Angelica replied in a happy tone while she and Kimi pounded each other's gloved fists.

"Maybe asking Shego and Kim to train them wasn't a good idea." Chuckie whispered at Tommy, who nodded in reply.

* * *

**X-X-X-X**

**END BLOOPERS!**

Back in the now dark theater, Chuckie and Angelica laugh loudly.

"God, that was great!" Chuckie says while Angelica nods.

"Yes. Lights, please."

At that moment, Danny, Phil, Dil, Harold, Lil, Ron, Curly and Goddard appear from the seats around them, each one holding a lantern.

"Hardy har har, guys." Angelica groans, making her friends to laugh. Then, they disappear, and the lights return for real.

"First of all, we want to thank The J.A.M for being a major influence on this extra chapter." Chuckie says.

"True. Also, we want to remember you guys that The Box Ghost and Valerie Gray are characters from _Danny Phantom_, Fifi La Fume is from _Tiny Toons Adventures, _and Launchpad McQuack, the character Harold disguised as, is from _Darkwing Duck_, so Ramiro doesn't own them." Angie points.

"Guess that's all. Thank you for reading and reviewing both this extra chapter, and the story. We appreciate it a lot, and sorry if any of you got offended by some of the bloopers; we tried to make them as decent as possible, but, well, I love Angelica, so I couldn't resist that one… you know what I mean." Chuckie says, blushing.

"Oh, I'm sure they understand, Finster… and I'm sure you'll understand this."

Angelica, in a dashing movement, handcuffs Chuckie and herself.

"What the… hey, these are the handcuffs Shego used in this story, right?" Chuckie, surprised, directs to her.

"Yep. That scene brought back some memories… and this time, Finster, I have no hurry to release us." Angelica says in a seductive tone while taking off her glasses and loosening her hair. Chuckie smiles widely, and the couple embraces; right before kissing, they turn to face the readers, both with huge love-sick smiles.

"Okay, thanks again to all of you."

"And, as Ramiro says at the end of all his stories and reviews…"

**Keep the good writing.**


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